Cavort vs Play - What's the difference?
cavort | play | Synonyms |
(originally) To prance, said of mounts
* 1920 , , The Understanding Heart , Chapter I:
To move about carelessly, playfully or boisterously.
* 1900 , ”:
* 1911 , :
(lb) To act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.
:
*2001 , Annabelle Sabloff, Reordering the Natural World , Univ. of Toronto Press, p.83:
*:A youngstergo on vacation, play in the same way that he did with his friends, and so on.
*2003 , Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont et al. (eds.), Joining Society: Social Interaction and Learning in Adolescence and Youth , Cambridge Univ. Press, p.52:
*:We had to play for an hour, so that meant that we didn't have time to play and joke around.
(lb) To perform in (a sport); to participate in (a game).
:
#(lb) To compete against, in a game.
#*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 12, work=BBC Sport
, title= (label) To take part in amorous activity; to make love, fornicate; to have sex.
*1590 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queene) , II.iv:
*:Her proper face / I not descerned in that darkesome shade, / But weend it was my loue, with whom he playd .
(lb) To act as the indicated role, especially in a performance.
:
*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author=
, title= To produce music or theatre.
# To produce music.
#*2007 , Dan Erlewine, Guitar Player Repair Guide (ISBN 0879309210), page 220:
#*:If your guitar plays well on fretted strings but annoys you on the open ones, the nut's probably worn out.
# To produce music using a musical instrument.
#:
# To produce music (or a specified song or musical style) using (a specified musical instrument).
#:
# To use a device to watch or listen to the indicated recording.
#:
# to be shown.
#:
# To perform in or at; to give performances in or at.
#*2008 , My Life: From Normandy to Hockeytown (ISBN 0966412087), p.30:
#*:I got a hold of Louis (Satchmo) Armstrong's agent and I explained to him on the phone that, "I know you're playing' London on Wednesday night. Why don't you come and ' play the Arena in Windsor on Saturday night?"
#(lb) To act or perform (a play).
#:
(lb) To behave in a particular way.
#(lb) Contrary to fact, to give an appearance of being.
#*(rfdate) Sir (Walter Scott) (1771-1832)
#*:Thou canst play the rational if thou wilt.
#*1985 , Sharon S. Brehm, Intimate Relationships :
#*:Playing hard to get is not the same as slamming the door in someone's face.
#*1996 , Michael P. Malone, James J Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest :
#*:Now, surveying his final link, he had the nice advantage of being able to play coy with established port cities that desperately wanted his proven railroad.
#*2003 , John U. Ogbu, Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement , p.194:
#*:Instead, they played dumb, remained silent, and did their classwork.
#(lb) To act with levity or thoughtlessness; to trifle; to be careless.
#*(rfdate) Sir (1628–1699):
#*:Men are apt to play with their healths.
#(lb) To act; to behave; to practice deception.
#*(rfdate) (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616):
#*:His mother played false with a smith.
#(lb) To bring into sportive or wanton action; to exhibit in action; to execute.
#:
#*(rfdate) (John Milton) (1608-1674):
#*:Nature here / Wantoned as in her prime, and played at will / Her virgin fancies.
#*
#*:The Bat—they called him the Bat.. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.
(lb) To move in any manner; especially, to move regularly with alternate or reciprocating motion; to operate.
:
*(rfdate) (1671-1743):
*:The heart beats, the blood circulates, the lungs play .
*
*:The colonel and his sponsor made a queer contrast: Greystone [the sponsor] long and stringy, with a face that seemed as if a cold wind was eternally playing on it.
(lb) To move gaily; to disport.
*(rfdate) (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616):
*:even as the waving sedges play with wind
*(rfdate) (Joseph Addison) (1672-1719):
*:The setting sun / Plays on their shining arms and burnished helmets.
*(rfdate) (Alexander Pope) (1688-1744):
*:All fame is foreign but of true desert, / Plays round the head, but comes not to the heart.
(lb) To put in action or motion.
:
(lb) To keep in play, as a hooked fish, in order to land it.
Activity for amusement only, especially among the young.
* Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
(uncountable) Similar activity, in young animals, as they explore their environment and learn new skills.
(uncountable, ethology) "Repeated, incompletely functional behavior differing from more serious versions ..., and initiated voluntarily when ... in a low-stress setting."
The conduct, or course of a game.
(countable) An individual's performance in a sport or game.
(countable) (turn-based games ) An action carried out when it is one's turn to play.
(countable) A literary composition, intended to be represented by actors impersonating the characters and speaking the dialogue.
(countable) A theatrical performance featuring actors.
(countable) A major move by a business.
(countable) A geological formation that contains an accumulation or prospect of hydrocarbons or other resources.
(uncountable) The extent to which a part of a mechanism can move freely.
(uncountable, informal) Sexual role-playing.
* 1996 , Sabrina P Ramet, Gender reversals and gender cultures
* 1996 , "toptigger", (on Internet newsgroup alt.personals.spanking.punishment )
* 2013 , Rachel Kramer Bussel, Best Bondage Erotica 2014
* 2014 , Jiri T. Servant, Facts About Bondage - Bondage Guide For Beginners
(countable) A button that, when pressed, causes media to be played.
Cavort is a synonym of play.
As verbs the difference between cavort and play
is that cavort is (originally|intransitive) to prance, said of mounts while play is (lb) to act in a manner such that one has fun; to engage in activities expressly for the purpose of recreation or entertainment.As a noun play is
activity for amusement only, especially among the young.cavort
English
Verb
- And dragon-flies sported around and cavorted , / As poets say dragon-flies ought to do;
- He whirligigged and pirouetted, dancing and cavorting round like an inebriated ape.
Synonyms
* (move about boisterously) romp, frolic, prance, caperSee also
* horse aroundReferences
* * “The Way We Live Now: 7-14-02: On Language; Cavort”, William Safire criticizes White House rhetorics who apparently use the word to mean consort, and discusses its possible origins.
play
English
Verb
(en verb)International friendly: England 1-0 Spain, passage=England will not be catapulted among the favourites for Euro 2012 as a result of this win, but no victory against Spain is earned easily and it is right they take great heart from their efforts as they now prepare to play Sweden at Wembley on Tuesday.}}
Katrina G. Claw
Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm, volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.}}
Noun
- She was fond of all boys' plays , and greatly preferred cricket
- We saw a two-act play in the theatre.
- No wonder the fanbelt is slipping: there’s too much play in it.
- Too much play in a steering wheel may be dangerous.
- The rarity of male domination in fantasy play is readily explained.
- Palm Springs M seeks sane F 4 safe bdsm play
- There were none of the usual restrictions on public nudity or sexual interaction in the club environment. Still, the night was young, and as he'd made his way to the bar to order Mistress Ramona a gin and tonic, he'd seen little in the way of play .
- This type of play allows some people to relax and enjoy being given pleasure without having to think about giving pleasure back at the same time.