curvet
/kɜːˈvɛt/
"curvet" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“curvet” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of a horse or, by extension, another animal: to leap about, to frolic.
Corpus desk
Index EN-curvet · curvet · English
curvet · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | curvet |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /kɜːˈvɛt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “curvet” in English
Rare enough to double-check
curvet is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /kɜːˈvɛt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for curvet in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Italian corvetta, diminutive of corva, an early form of curva (“curve”), from Latin curva, feminine of curvus (“bent, curved”). The correct English form is curvet, spelled C-U-R-V-E-T.
Definition
- 1Of a horse or, by extension, another animal: to leap about, to frolic.
- 2To cause to leap about, dart or jump.
- 3To fly or swim with darting movements.
- 4(of a person) To prance; to caper, frolic.
- 5(of an object) To jump, skip, shake.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how curvet appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Sometime he trots, as if he told the steps, / With gentle majesty and modest pride; / Anon he rears upright, curvets and leaps, / As who should say, 'Lo! thus my strength is tried; / And this I do to captivate the eye / Of the fair breeder that is standing by.'
The boy turns into a dog and bow-wows—a cock, he flaps his wings and crows—a cow, he fetches a long drawn moo—a horse broke loose, he curvets, prances and kicks fearfully among his nursery blocks—a big bull, he waxes dangerous as he bellows and paws the carpet—a locomotive, he blows his steam whistle and dashes round the nursery with puffs and yells spasm…
Etymology
From Italian corvetta, diminutive of corva, an early form of curva (“curve”), from Latin curva, feminine of curvus (“bent, curved”).
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.