Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - lope

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English loup, ~ leap, probably from Old Norse hlaup; akin to Old English hleapan to leap — more at leap  Date: 1809  1. an easy natural gait of a horse resembling a canter  2. an easy usually bounding gait capable of being sustained for a long time  II. intransitive verb  (~d; loping)  Date: circa 1825 to move or ride at a ~  • ~r noun