- Today's Word
Cavort
kuh-VORT
Definition
(verb) To jump or dance around excitedly; to behave in a lively or exuberant way.
Example
The children cavorted through the sprinklers, shrieking with joy.
Fun Fact
“Cavort” likely originated as a variation of “curvet,” a term used to describe a leaping movement by horses. It’s now used to convey carefree joy, frolicking, or exuberant celebration, often with a sense of unrestrained glee. Whether it’s kids playing, pets bounding around, or partygoers dancing freely, to cavort is to throw caution (and perhaps decorum) to the wind.
(adjective) Capable of producing the desired result; successful in achieving the intended outcome.
The new treatment proved remarkably efficacious in clinical trials, reducing symptoms in over ninety percent of patients within the first two weeks.
Efficacious derives from the Latin efficax, meaning “powerful” or “effectual,” rooted in efficere — “to bring about” or “to accomplish” — built from ex- (“out”) and facere (“to make” or “to do”). The same root gives us effect, efficient, and efficacy — a family of words all built around the idea of something being done and producing a result. It entered English in the 16th century, used predominantly in medical and philosophical contexts to describe remedies or arguments that actually worked.