lope

Etymology

Alteration of loup, from Old Norse hlaupa (“to leap, jump”). See leap. Cognate with German laufen (“walk, run”), Danish løbe, Dutch lopen (“walk, run”), Norwegian løpe (“run”). Doublet of leap.

verb

1. To travel an easy pace with long strides.
   He loped along, hour after hour, not fast but steady and covering much ground.
   “And the holidays?” Murgo proposed one evening as they loped down a bridlepath past lovers fondling in the grass. “Fun, are they? High living?” 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy
2. (obsolete, intransitive) To jump, leap.
   1621-22, Thomas Middleton et al, The Spanish Gypsy he that lopes on the ropes

noun

1. An easy pace with long strides.
   Hares have larger, leaner bodies, longer legs, and longer ears than the true rabbit. They also run with a lope instead of a hop. It is thought that they developed this more stream-lined body and swifter gait from running on the plains […] 1931, Home Geographic Monthly, volumes 1-2, page 45