cavort English · revision 2082

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kəˈvɔːt/ ''(UK)''; /kəˈvɔɹt/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is uncertain.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) It is perhaps an alteration of [[curvet]] “a leap of a horse”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) or a blend of ''curvet'' and [[vault]].^(RHWU) Etymonline also suggests a colloquial intensive prefix ''ca-'' added to ''vault''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To prance or bustle nimbly, first recorded as ''cauvaut'' in American English (1793).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was first said of a horse or its rider, and then of people generally.^(OED 1989) The modern form is recorded from 1794 in the OED and from 1829 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It later came to mean behaving in a high-spirited or extravagant way,^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) sometimes with a sexual suggestion.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1793 – ''cauvaut'', to prance.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1794 – to curvet, prance, said of a horse or rider.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1829 – the modern form ''cavort''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To leap or prance about in a lively way; to caper.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To have boisterous fun; to make merry or behave extravagantly.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cavorter]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[curvet]]

+ * [[vault]]

+ * [[caper]]

+ * [[prance]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}