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car·a·cole

(kărə-kōl′) also car·a·col

(-kŏl′)

A half turn to the right or left performed by a horse and rider.

intr.v. car·a·coled, car·a·col·ing, car·a·coles

To perform a caracole.

[French, from Spanish caracol, snail, possibly from Catalan and Occitan caragol, snail (since the custom of eating snails spread from Catalonia and Occitania in the late Middle Ages); akin to regional Occitan cararolo, eggshell, nutshell, and Walloon and Picard caracole, snail, all probably ultimately of expressive origin (imitative of the sound of a hollow shell).]

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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