Gallivanting Definition & Meaning

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Back in the 14th century, gallant, a noun borrowed from the French galant, denoted a young man of fashion. By the middle of the next century, it was being used more specifically to refer to such a man who was attentive to, and who had a fondness for the company of, women. In the late 1600s, this "ladies' man" sense gave rise to the verb gallant to describe the process a paramour used to win a lady's heart, and "to gallant" became synonymous with "to court." Etymologists think that the spelling of the verb gallant was altered to create gallivant, which originally meant "to act as a gallant" or "to go about usually ostentatiously or indiscreetly with members of the opposite sex." Nowadays, however, gallivant is more likely to describe wandering than romancing.

Examples of gallivant in a Sentence

They've been gallivanting all over town. He's been gallivanting around the country when he ought to be looking for a job.

Recent Examples on the Web Behind every savvy explorer is a dashing travel bag — wanderlust-y tourists would not be able to gallivant around the world without the help of some trustworthy luggage. — Alexandra Polk, refinery29.com, 10 May 2021 Since this was filmed before our current situation, the chefs are shown doing things that now seem surreal, like gallivanting around grocery stores, the shelves and meat counters fully stocked, and wandering through the Getty Museum. — Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 12 Apr. 2020 When the Jets sing, van Hove projects recorded footage of the cast gallivanting around Brooklyn, chewing on gold chains and mugging for the camera in pastiches of rap-music videos, which dwarfs the actors with their own gigantic images. — Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2020 Vallotton made images not just of the consumerism of the age — the shopping, gallivanting and dancing in the Latin Quarter — but also street protests, clashes with police, a carriage accident and murder. — Washington Post, 26 Dec. 2019 Below, see how Atkin—and her glamorous group—gallivanted through Italy. — Vogue, 18 Oct. 2019 Bail was set low and Mr. Murphy and Mr. Kuhn went back to gallivanting in Miami. — Corey Kilgannon, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2019 Not every moment was fun, but the overall experience was joyful through and through—even more joyful than gallivanting around Greece on an ATV. — Sarah Firshein, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Aug. 2019 At the time, Wrightsman was dating socialite Martha Kemp, but when he was hospitalized for lip cancer, Kemp was off gallivanting while Jayne maintained a bedside vigil throughout his illness. — Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 24 Apr. 2019 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gallivant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.