Gallop--first used in the United States when old Joe Clark, uneducated trainer of Aristides (winner of the first Kentucky Derby), saw the filly take off down the track as a one-year-old, and ejaculated, "Holy smokes! Lookit that gal lope!"
(Actual origin: [From Middle English galopen, to go at a gallop, from Old French galoper, of Germanic origin.] , from Atomica.)
1. a. A natural three-beat gait of a horse, faster than a canter, in which all four feet are off the ground at the same time during each stride.
b. A fast running motion of other quadrupeds.
2. A ride taken at a gallop.
3. A rapid pace: Events were proceeding at a gallop.
4. Medicine. A disordered rhythm of the heart characterized by three or four distinct heart sounds in each cycle and resembling the sound of a galloping horse. Also called cantering rhythm, gallop rhythm.
