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cap·ri·ole (kăprē-ōl′)
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n.
1. An upward leap made by a trained horse without going forward and with a backward kick of the hind legs at the height of the leap.
2. A playful leap or jump; a caper.
intr.v. cap·ri·oled, cap·ri·ol·ing, cap·ri·oles
To perform a capriole.
[French, from Italian capriola, somersault, from capriolo, roebuck, wild goat, from Latin capreolus, diminutive of caper, capr-, goat.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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