Word of the Day

: June 24, 2009

cavalcade

noun kav-ul-KAYD

What It Means

1 a : a procession of riders or carriages

b : a procession of vehicles or ships

2 : a dramatic sequence or procession : series

cavalcade in Context

The crowds cheered and waved as the cavalcade of fire trucks rolled through the streets along the parade route.

Did You Know?

When "cavalcade" was first used in English, it meant "a horseback ride" or "a march or raid made on horseback." Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, used it this way in his 1647 History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England : "He had with some Troops, made a Cavalcade or two into the West." From there came the "procession of riders" meaning and eventual applications to processions in a broader sense. "Cavalcade" came to English via French from the Old Italian noun "cavalcata," which in turn came from an Old Italian verb, "cavalcare," meaning "to go on horseback." Ultimately, these words came from the Latin word "caballus," meaning "horse."