The story
From trip + -ant, alteration of tripping, present participle of trip. Compare Scots trippand (“tripping”), present participle of trip (“to skip, go nimbly, trip”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
trippant
Today it means: Represented as walking or trotting, usually with one of the forehooves lifted while the remaining three are on the ground. Full definition →