canter: [18] Canter comes from phrases such as Canterbury trot, Canterbury pace, etc, which were terms applied to the pace at which medieval pilgrims rode on their way by horse to the shrine of Thomas à Beckett at Canterbury in Kent (earliest references to it are from the 17th century, much later than the time of Chaucer’s pilgrims in the Middle Ages). The abbreviated from canter appeared in the 18th century, initially as a verb, and Samuel Johnson in his Dictionary 1755 defined Canterbury gallop as ‘the hand gallop of an ambling horse, commonly called a canter’.
canter (v.)
1706, from a contraction of Canterbury gallop (1630s), "easy pace at which pilgrims ride to Canterbury" (q.v.). Related: Cantered; cantering.
canter (n.)
1755, from canter (v.).
双语例句
1. Carnac set off at a canter.
卡纳克小跑着出发了。
来自柯林斯例句
2. She set off at a canter.
她骑着马慢跑出发。
来自《权威词典》
3. She leaps in one bound onto her pony's back for a speedy canter around the ring.