noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Either of a pair of protective leather gaiters on a saddle. plural-normally
2. 2
   gamashes; spatterdashes. in-plural

   "His thin legs tenanted a pair of gambadoes fastened at the side with rusty clasps."

3. 3
   A gambade (leaping movement).

Verb

1. 1
   To perform a gambade (leaping movement). intransitive

Synonyms

All synonyms

bobbouncecapercapriolecaracolecavort

Example

More examples

"His thin legs tenanted a pair of gambadoes fastened at the side with rusty clasps."

Etymology

From Italian or Spanish gamba (“leg”). See gambol.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.