n.
- (in the Middle Ages) a man raised to honourable military rank after service as a page and squire.
▸
(also knight of the shire)
historical a gentleman representing a shire or county in Parliament.
▸literary a man devoted to a cause or the service of a woman.
- (in the UK) a man awarded a non-hereditary title by the sovereign and entitled to use the honorific ‘Sir’ in front of his name.
- a chess piece, typically shaped like a horse's head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three.
- (in ancient Rome) a member of the class of equites.
- (in ancient Greece) a citizen of the second class in Athens, called hippeus in Greek.
v.
invest with the title of knight.
Phrase
- knight in shining armour
(or knight on a white charger)
an idealized chivalrous man. - knight of the road
informal a man who frequents the roads, e.g. a salesman, tramp, or (formerly) a highwayman.
Derivative
- knightliness n.
- knightly adj.
Etymology
OE cniht ‘boy, youth, servant’, of W. Gmc origin.
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