Definition of GALLOP

gallop

Meanings

Plural: gallops

Noun

  • a fast gait of a horse; a two-beat stride during which all four legs are off the ground simultaneously
  • The fastest gait of a horse, a two-beat stride during which all four legs are off the ground simultaneously.
  • An act or instance of going or running rapidly.
  • An abnormal rhythm of the heart, made up of three or four sounds, like a horse's gallop.
  • A rhythm consisting of an 8th note followed by two 16th notes, resembling a horse's gallop.

Verb

  • ride at a galloping pace
    • "He was galloping down the road"
  • go at galloping speed
    • "The horse was galloping along"
  • cause to move at full gallop
    • "Did you gallop the horse just now?"
  • To run at a gallop.
  • To ride at a galloping pace.
  • To cause to gallop.
  • To make electrical or other utility lines sway and/or move up and down violently, usually due to a combination of high winds and ice accrual on the lines.
  • To run very fast.
  • To go rapidly or carelessly, as in making a hasty examination.
  • To progress rapidly through the body.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English galopen (“to gallop”), from Old French galoper (compare modern French galoper), from Frankish *wala hlaupan (“to run well”), from *wala (“well”) + *hlaupan (“to run”), from Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną (“to run, leap, spring”), from Proto-Indo-European *klaup-, *klaub- (“to spring, stumble”). Possibly also derived from a deverbal of Frankish *walhlaup (“battle run”) from *wal (“battlefield”) from a Proto-Germanic word meaning "dead, victim, slain" from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“death in battle, killed in battle”) + *hlaup (“course, track”) from *hlaupan (“to run”).
More at well, leap, valkyrie. See also the doublet wallop, coming from the same source through an Old Northern French variant.

Synonyms

extend

Scrabble Score: 9

gallop is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
gallop is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
gallop is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

gallop is a valid Words With Friends word