Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 26, 2023 is: cavalcade \kav-ul-KAYD\ noun

Cavalcade refers to a series or procession of usually related things. It can also be used specifically for a procession of riders or carriages, or vehicles or ships.

// Since the high-powered console’s debut late last year, video game companies have steadily unveiled a cavalcade of new games that showcase its groundbreaking graphics.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cavalcade)

Examples:

“Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour made a detour at the White House Friday as the singer performed for a small audience that included President Joe Biden during an event billed as ‘A Night When Hope and History Rhyme.’ John … performed a cavalcade of his greatest hits on the White House South Lawn, including ‘Tiny Dancer,’ ‘Rocket Man,’ ‘Your Song’ and ‘I’m Still Standing.’” — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 23 Sept. 2022

Did you know?

Cavalcade is a word with deep [equestrian](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/equestrian) roots, though it comes (via French and possibly Italian) from a Latin word (caballus, meaning “work horse” or “[gelding](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gelding)”) that displaced equestrian’s Latin ancestor, equus, as a neutral word for horse in [Romance](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/romance#h4) languages. In the 17th century, cavalcade was used specifically to refer to a procession of horseback riders or carriages, especially as part of a special occasion, whether joyous or [funereal](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/funereal). Over time, that meaning was extended to processions of other modes of travel, including ships, vehicles, or even paraders on foot or float (as invoked by the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith in his song “Rose Parade” with the lyric “a wink and a wave from the cavalcade”). As a cavalcade of words before and since have done, cavalcade also took on a figurative sense to refer to a series of related things, whether or not they happen to be marching (or trotting) down the road.