gambol

1 of 2

verb

gam·​bol ˈgam-bəl 

gamboled or gambolled; gamboling or gambolling ˈgam-bə-liŋ 

 also  -bliŋ

intransitive verb

: to skip about in play : frisk, frolic

gambol

2 of 2

noun

: a skipping or leaping about in play

Did you know?

In Middle French, the noun gambade referred to the frisky spring of a jumping horse. In the early 1500s, English speakers adopted the word as gambol as both a verb and a noun. (The noun means "a skipping or leaping about in play.") The English word is not restricted to horses, but rather can be used of any frolicsome creature. It is a word that suggests levity and spontaneity, and it tends to be used especially of the lively activity of children or animals engaged in active play.

Synonyms

Verb

• caper
• cavort
• disport
• frisk
• frolic
• lark
• rollick
• romp
• sport

Noun

• binge
• fling
• frisk
• frolic
• idyll
• idyl
• lark
• ploy
• revel
• rollick
• romp
• spree

Examples of gambol in a Sentence

Verb

lambs gamboling in the meadow

dog owners chat while their pooches gambol on the park's great lawn

Noun

she and her old college roommate headed off for one final European gambol before returning to the States to start their separate careers

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Amongst the ornate grandeur of the state rooms and bedrooms, hung in with priceless tapestries and embroideries of gambolling classical Arcadian subjects and vast likenesses of Stuart kings and queens, her work is arresting at every turn. —Sarah Mower, Vogue, 1 July 2024

For California’s governor, who loves gamboling on a national stage, the whole evening was a lark. —Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2023

Noun

In the winning first moments of the show, Mills gambols on as the Narrator, wielding a paint palette and, instead of a brush, a tuft of rainbow-colored gauze. —Celia Wren, Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2023

Once thought to be bipedal, hadrosaurs are now believed to have walked on all fours, though some species may have taken the occasional awkward two-legged gambol. —Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Verb

in part verbal derivative of gambol entry 2, in part borrowing (assimilated to the noun) from Middle French gambader, verbal derivative of gambade

Noun

earlier "leap of a horse, leap, caper," probably apocopated variant of gambold, gambald, re-formation (by association with French-derived words, as ribald entry 2, ending in the suffix -aud, -auld) of gambade, borrowed from Middle French, probably borrowed from Occitan cambado, gambado, from camba "leg" (going back to Late Latin camba, gamba) + -ado -ade — more at jamb

First Known Use

Verb

1508, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1510, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

gambol

verb

gam·​bol

ˈgam-bəl

gamboled or gambolled; gamboling or gambolling

-bə-liŋ,

 also  -bliŋ

: to run or skip about in play : frolic

gambol noun