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Glite Dictionary
to caracole

to caracole

1 9.9
To make a horse turn quickly to one side
  • verb
  • /ˈkærəˌkoʊl/
  • Archaic
: caracolear
  • The skilled rider taught her horse to caracole gracefully during the dressage competition.

Examples

  • With precise movements, the horse began to caracole in response to the rider's signals.

  • As the cavalry approached, the sergeant ordered them to caracole to evade enemy fire.

  • To her astonishment and alarm, the pen began to curve and caracole with the smoothest possible fluency. 17 (173-74)

    Academic text (2017)

Surface Forms

caracole infinitive
caracoled past
caracoled past participle
caracoling present participle
caracoles third person singular

Etymology

Caracole comes from the Spanish caracol, which means 'snail' or 'spiral', because the horse and rider make a curved, turning move like a spiral. So to caracole is to make a 'half turn' to one side, a small, graceful turn used in dressage and old cavalry maneuvers.