Word of the Day - 08/09/26
cavort
/kə'vɔrt/(v.): play boisterously
The children would cavort through the sprinklers, laughing and splashing in the summer sun.
Word Origin
The word 'cavort' originated in American English in the mid-19th century (around the 1830s). It is believed to be an alteration of the earlier word 'curvet'. 'Curvet' refers to a leap by a horse where it raises all four feet at once, and it comes from the Italian 'corvetta', a diminutive of 'corva' (meaning 'a curve' or 'a crouch'). 'Corva' ultimately derives from the Latin word 'curvus', meaning 'curved'.
The most directly related word in origin is 'curvet', from which 'cavort' is an alteration. Other words sharing the ultimate Latin root 'curvus' (curved) include 'curve', 'curvature', and 'curvy', though their relationship to 'cavort' is more distant, via 'curvet's Latin ancestry.
As a reminder, here are all of the words from this week:
corpulence pervasive plethora
cavort
See if you can remember all of this week's words! Here is a sentence that includes all seven, followed by a version that simplifies them to help you remember:
In the otherwise staid academic conference, where a plethora of dry papers failed to impress, one seminal presentation on nutrition dramatically highlighted the pervasive corpulence in modern society, prompting even the most serious attendees to consider if they should, for once, cavort instead of merely absorbing didactic theories.In the otherwise serious academic conference, where many dry papers failed to impress, one presentation inspiring future work on nutrition dramatically highlighted the widespread fatness in modern society, prompting even the most serious attendees to consider if they should, for once, play around instead of merely absorbing educational theories.