gambol
Definitions
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WordNet 3.6
- v gambol play boisterously "The children frolicked in the garden","the gamboling lambs in the meadows","The toddlers romped in the playroom"
- n gambol gay or light-hearted recreational activity for diversion or amusement "it was all done in play","their frolic in the surf threatened to become ugly"
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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- n Gambol A skipping or leaping about in frolic; a hop; a sportive prank.
- v. i Gambol To dance and skip about in sport; to frisk; to skip; to play in frolic, like boys or lambs.
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Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
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- n gambol A skipping, leaping, or frisking about; a spring, leap, skip, or jump, as in frolic or sport.
- gambol To skip about in sport; caper in frolic, like children or lambs; frisk carelessly or heedlessly.
- gambol Synonyms To frolic, romp, caper.
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Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
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- v.i Gambol gam′bol to leap, skip: to frisk in sport
- pr.p Gambol gam′bolling; pa.p. gam′bolled
- n Gambol a skipping: playfulness
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Quotations
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“'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale; 'twas Christmas told the merriest tale; a Christmas gambol oft could cheer the poor man's heart through half the year.”
Etymology
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
OE. gambolde, gambaulde, F. gambade, gambol, fr. It. gambata, kick, fr. L. gamba, leg, akin to F. jambe, OF. also, gambe, fr. L. gamba, hoof or perh. joint: cf. Gr. a binding, winding, W., Ir. & Gael. cam, crooked; perhaps akin to E. chamber,: cf.F. gambiller, to kick about. Cf. Jamb (n.) Gammon ham, Gambadoes
Usage
In literature:
How I envied them their innocent gambols, their life of crystal purity and freedom!
"The War Trail" by Mayne Reid
Her caprices were as the gambols of the paschal lamb, to be indulged and overlooked.
"The King Of Beaver, and Beaver Lights" by Mary Hartwell Catherwood
Through this rich pasture Erica waded till she reached the tarn which fed the stream that gambolled down the ravine.
"Feats on the Fiord" by Harriet Martineau
He plays with truth as a kitten gambols with a ball of yarn.
"Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great Philosophers, Volume 8" by Elbert Hubbard
They went on ahead, gambolling and shouting.
"The Dew of Their Youth" by S. R. Crockett
Squirrels were seen gambolling on every tree around us.
"Daniel Boone" by John S. C. Abbott
Shortly after, a few more were seen at a greater distance, as if playing about and gambolling for our amusement.
"A Boy's Voyage Round the World" by The Son of Samuel Smiles
That evening, before reaching the boat, I saw at least a dozen of serpents at their evening gambols over the ruins of a house.
"Life and Work in Benares and Kumaon, 1839-1877" by James Kennedy
Some of the Lilies gamboled back to shiver over the fires, but even they were beginning to droop.
"Tutors' Lane" by Wilmarth Lewis
The school, meanwhile, had gamboled past, all snickering, of course, at his predicament.
"The Varmint" by Owen Johnson
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In poetry:
With Possums gambolling overhead,
'Neath western stars so grand,
Ah! would that we could make our bed
Tonight in Possum Land.
'Neath western stars so grand,
Ah! would that we could make our bed
Tonight in Possum Land.
"In Possum Land" by Henry Lawson
Come, unfold your vocal treasure,
Sing with me a nuptial measure,--
Let this springtime gambol be
Bridal dance for you and me.
Sing with me a nuptial measure,--
Let this springtime gambol be
Bridal dance for you and me.
"A Bridal Measure" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
And Jessy all with joy survey'd,
With joy her heart ran o'er,
When they their little gambols play'd,
She spinning at her door.
With joy her heart ran o'er,
When they their little gambols play'd,
She spinning at her door.
"The Eagle" by William Hayley
The hill said "Climb me;" and the wood
"Come to my bosom, child;
Mine is a merry gamboling brood,
Come, and with them go wild."
"Come to my bosom, child;
Mine is a merry gamboling brood,
Come, and with them go wild."
"The Golden Key" by George MacDonald
The sheep turn'd round to see us pass,
The milky snow-white lambs
Gamboll'd and sniff'd the growing grass,
Or nestled by their dams.
The milky snow-white lambs
Gamboll'd and sniff'd the growing grass,
Or nestled by their dams.
"A Walk To Pamphy Linns" by Alexander Anderson
"He skipped the flowering Highway fast,
Hurried the hedgerows green and white,
Set maids and men a-yearning, passed
The Bend, and gamboll'd out of sight.
Hurried the hedgerows green and white,
Set maids and men a-yearning, passed
The Bend, and gamboll'd out of sight.
"The Hard Times In Elfland [A Story of Christmas Eve]" by Sidney Lanier
In news:
And for things that hop, quack, bare their teeth, or gambol through woods, the season for being hunted is over.
Gambol Pet Products Inspection Report.
Gambols along US 1 before taking off on railroad tracks.
Cats, dogs, moles and more gambol across the spreads of these board books, devoted to teaching the concepts of numbers, colors, sizes and opposites, respectively.
Ax Reinhardt, it is said, used rabbits on stage to liven up his actors, and Jerzy Grotowski had actors gambol in the forest.
Gambler Luntz (Daveed Diggs) runs afoul of heavy Gambol (Donald E. Lacy Jr.) in Nobody Move.
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