leporine grace
- noun
- /ˈlɛpəˌraɪn ɡreɪs/
:
gracia leporina
- The dancer moved with such leporine grace that the audience was mesmerized.
Examples
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The model walked down the runway with the leporine grace of a woodland creature.
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With leporine grace, the gymnast vaulted effortlessly over the apparatus.
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The dancer's movements had a leporine grace that captivated the audience.
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What a display of leporine grace that was!
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The dancer moved with such leporine grace that the audience was mesmerized.
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The model walked down the runway with the leporine grace of a woodland creature.
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With leporine grace, the gymnast vaulted effortlessly over the apparatus.
Synonyms
172
2.6
A smooth, attractive way of moving or behaving
How Graceful
Surface Forms
Morphology
leporine + grace
The phrase is a straightforward composition of 'leporine' (rabbit‑like) + 'grace' (elegance), so the meaning 'rabbit‑like elegance or graceful movement' is directly derivable from the constituents. Although 'leporine' is rare and likely unfamiliar to many learners, if a learner knows the constituent meanings the expression is fully compositional and thus transparent.
Etymology
Leporine grace comes from the word leporine, which means 'rabbit-like', and from grace, meaning smooth, delicate movement. The image is of a rabbit's quick, light way of moving, so the phrase means 'an elegant, delicate kind of movement'.