caracole

Definition

A half-turn performed by a horse and rider in dressage.

Etymology

Borrowed from French caracole (noun, literally “snail's shell”), caracoler (verb).

Example Sentences

• "How the chargers neigh and champ, / (Their riders weary of camp,) / With curvet and with caracole!"
• "The caracole played a role well into the Thirty Years' War."
• "The battle tactic of these cavalry was called the caracole, an attack with pistols. There were four main varieties which may be called the simple caracole, the true caracole, the limacon, and the Protestant caracole."