gambol

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈɡæmbl/ UK /ˈɡæmbl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to run or skip about playfully; a frolic

Lambs gamboled across the meadow in the spring sunshine.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to run or skip about... frolic frisk caper romp cavort prance skip

Word family

Forms gamboled

Simplified etymology

Gambol entered English in the early 16th century from the same Romance root as gammon and gambit. This word family is historically associated with the leg or a joint.

Etymology

From Middle French 'gambade' ('a leap, spring'), from Italian 'gambata' ('kick'), from 'gamba' ('leg'), from Late Latin 'gamba' ('hock of a horse').

gamba Late Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# gambol

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡæmbl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɡæmbl/

## Meanings
1. to run or skip about playfully; a frolic

## Examples
- Lambs gamboled across the meadow in the spring sunshine.

## Synonyms
- frolic
- frisk
- caper
- romp
- cavort
- prance
- skip

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: gamba

## Etymology
From Middle French 'gambade' ('a leap, spring'), from Italian 'gambata' ('kick'), from 'gamba' ('leg'), from Late Latin 'gamba' ('hock of a horse').

## AI Etymology
Gambol comes from Middle French 'gambade' ('a leap, spring'), from Italian 'gambata' ('kick'), from 'gamba' ('leg'), from Late Latin 'gamba' ('hock of a horse'). The development is chiefly a borrowing or learned continuation, carrying an older form and meaning into English rather than building the word from a purely native base. In present use, it is used as a verb and noun meaning "to run or skip about playfully; a frolic", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The named historical forms include Late Latin gamba, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood includes frolic, frisk, caper, and romp, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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