n.
A smooth gait, especially of a horse, that is slower than a gallop but faster than a trot.
v., -tered, -ter·ing, -ters. v.intr.
- To ride a horse at a canter.
- To go or move at a canter.
To cause (a horse) to go at a canter.
[Ultimately from phrases such as Canterbury gallop, after CANTERBURY, England, toward which pilgrims rode at an easy pace.]
WORD HISTORY Most of those who have majored in English literature, and many more besides, know that Chaucer's Canterbury Tales were told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury to visit the shrine of England's famous martyr Thomas à Becket. Many pilgrims other than Chaucer's visited Canterbury on horse, and phrases such as Canterbury gallop, Canterbury pace, and Canterbury trot described the easy gait at which they rode to their destination. The first recorded instance of one of these phrases, Canterbury pace, is found in a work published before 1636. However, in a work written in 1631 we find a shortened form, the noun Canterbury, meaning "a canter," and later, in 1673, the verb Canterbury, meaning "to canter." This verb, or perhaps the noun, was further shortened, giving us the verb canter, first recorded in 1706, and the noun canter, first recorded in 1755.
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