coltishness

Noun

coltishness (uncountable)

1. The quality of being lively, playful and undisciplined.
   • The grand thing is to get rid of dogged sulks and coltishness—of that wayward, swerving, hesitating gait, which says, “Here’s my foot, and there’s my foot,” or “There is a lion in the street, I cannot go forth!”1839, George Greenwood, Hints on Horsemanship, to a Nephew and Niece; or, Common Sense and Common Errors in Common Riding, London: Edward Moxon, page 94
   • “He hasn’t learned the art of taking it gracefully,” said the Major. “But he shouldn’t show temper. It’s a sign of coltishness that I don’t care for.”
     “Ah, well, he’s young,” said Daisy, with a sigh. “He’ll get over that.”1915, Ethel M. Dell, chapter 12, in The Keeper of the Door, New York: A. L. Burt, page 396

   Synonyms:

   abandon, exuberance, friskiness, spirit, spiritedness

2. The quality of being tall, thin and awkward (usually of a young person).
   • Though only a year younger than Reuben, in the midst of the awkward age, his growing limbs quite lacked the coltishness of his brother’s.1916, Sheila Kaye-Smith, Sussex Gorse, London: Cassell, published 1922, Prologue, p. 19
   • Laura Whitstable was struck by her beauty. The awkward touch of coltishness had gone, she was now a remarkably attractive young woman, with a quite unusual loveliness of face and form.1952, Agatha Christie (as Mary Westmacott), A Daughter’s a Daughter, New York: Dell, 1976, Book 2, Chapter 1, p. 111

   Synonyms:

   gangliness