A curved furniture leg that bends outward and then back inward, typical of 18th-century design; also, a ballet jump where the dancer's legs cross.
From French cabriole 'leap' or 'caper,' derived from the verb cabrer (to rear up like a goat). The curved leg design mimics the arched leap of a dancing horse or goat.
When you see Queen Anne or Chippendale furniture with those fancy curved legs, you're looking at 'cabriolesÂ'—designers literally shaped wood to look like a frozen leap or jump, captured in furniture form!
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