[kab-ree-ohl; Fr. ka-bree-awl] 
[-ohlz; Fr. -awl] . | 1. | Furniture. a curved, tapering leg curving outward at the top and inward farther down so as to end in a round pad, the semblance of an animal's paw, or some other feature: used esp. in the first half of the 18th century. |
| 2. | Ballet. a leap in which one leg is raised in the air and the other is brought up to beat against it. |
| cab·ri·ole (kāb'rē-ōl') n. A form of furniture leg that curves outward and then narrows downward into an ornamental foot, characteristic of Queen Anne and Chippendale furniture. [French, caper (from its resemblance to the foreleg of a capering animal); see cabriolet.] |
cabriole
ballet jump, formerly performed only by men, in which the dancer beats the calves of the legs together in the air, with a scissors-like movement. When the beat occurs, the legs are extended at either a 45 or 90 angle to the body at the front, side, or back. The dancer may land on one foot, then bring the second foot down to fifth position-cabriole fermee ("closed cabriole")-or may complete the step with the second foot in the air-cabriole ouverte ("open cabriole").
Learn more about cabriole with a free trial on Britannica.com.