At a gallop; moving at a fast running pace, especially of a horse.
From 'a-' (in the state of) + 'gallop' (rapid running gait). This Middle English form combines the prefix 'a-' (meaning 'in' or 'at') with 'gallop' to create an adverb meaning 'in a galloping motion'.
The phrase 'going agallop' appears throughout English literature from Shakespeare to Jane Austen, and it shows how the 'a-' prefix was once much more productive in English — we used to be able to add it to verbs casually ('asleep,' 'afire'), but now it's mostly frozen in fossil phrases!
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