The Wayward History of the Word Gallivant
Hello,
I was out gallivanting at the weekend and it reminded me to check the history of the word. It was a long overdue meeting of close friends who traveled to a central meeting point. It ran late into the night, as every good gallivant should, in my opinion.
Appropriately enough my transport card features a gallivanting frogThe Cambridge Dictionary tells me that to gallivant is to “visit a lot of different places, enjoying yourself and not worrying about other things you should be doing”. Yes, that’s definitely what we were at. All attendees have numerous responsibilities and long task lists, but sometimes it’s important to throw those things aside and have fun.
Gallivanting didn’t always relate to carefree roaming pleasure. When it entered the English language in the early 1800s is was about spending time seeking pleasure with somebody of the opposite sex, to gad about, to be frivolous. An early print use was in 1824 in “Wine and Walnuts” by W.H. Pyne. I checked and this book is still in print today. Apparently, despite the intriguing title, it’s a collection of legal wisdom in an after dinner style (hence the title) by various experts.
Gallivant is one of those words whose true origin is unknown. Educated guesses from various dictionaries suggest it’s a playful twist on gallant (i.e. to play the gallant with a young lady, for example). There’s a French dialect word, galvauder, which may have played its part in gallivant’s transfer to English, but the reality is that nobody is sure where we got gallivanting.
This didn’t stop it becoming a very popular word during the 1800s, thanks to the British writer William Makepeace Thackery, who used it for any gadding about or flirting activity. As Thackery enjoyed travel writing as well as novel-writing I suspect he enjoyed gallivanting too.
The flirting meaning is less used now, but traveling in pursuit of pleasure is still a popular pursuit.
Until next time, happy reading, writing, and wordfooling,
Grace (@Wordfoolery)
