Definition of Knight

1. Noun. Originally a person of noble birth trained to arms and chivalry; today in Great Britain a person honored by the sovereign for personal merit.


2. Verb. Raise (someone) to knighthood. "The Beatles were knighted"
Exact synonyms: Dub
Generic synonyms: Ennoble, Entitle, Gentle

3. Noun. A chessman shaped to resemble the head of a horse; can move two squares horizontally and one vertically (or vice versa).
Exact synonyms: Horse
Category relationships: Chess, Chess Game
Generic synonyms: Chess Piece, Chessman

Definition of Knight

1. n. A young servant or follower; a military attendant.

2. v. t. To dub or create (one) a knight; -- done in England by the sovereign only, who taps the kneeling candidate with a sword, saying: Rise, Sir ---.

Definition of Knight

1. Proper noun. An English status surname for someone who was a mounted soldier. ¹

2. Noun. A warrior, especially of the Middle Ages. ¹

3. Noun. Nowadays, a person on whom a knighthood has been conferred by a monarch. ¹

4. Noun. (chess) A chess piece, often in the shape of a horse's head, that is moved two squares in one direction and one at right angles to that direction in a single move, leaping over any intervening pieces. ¹

5. Verb. (transitive) To confer knighthood upon. ¹

6. Verb. (chess transitive) To promote (a pawn) to a knight. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Knight

1. to make a knight (a medieval gentleman-soldier) of [v -ED, -ING, -S]

Medical Definition of Knight

1. 1. A young servant or follower; a military attendant. 2. In feudal times, a man-at-arms serving on horseback and admitted to a certain military rank with special ceremonies, including an oath to protect the distressed, maintain the right, and live a stainless life. One on whom knighthood, a dignity next below that of baronet, is conferred by the sovereign, entitling him to be addressed as Sir; as, Sir John. Hence: A champion; a partisan; a lover. "Give this ring to my true knight." Shak "In all your quarrels will I be your knight." "Knights, by their oaths, should right poor ladies' harms." (Shak) Formerly, when a knight's name was not known, it was customary to address him as Sir Knight. The rank of a knight is not hereditary. 3. A piece used in the game of chess, usually bearing a horse's head. 4. A playing card bearing the figure of a knight; the knave or jack. Carpet knight. See Carpet. Knight of industry. See Chevalier d'industrie, under Chevalier. Knight of Malta, Knight of Rhodes, Knight of St. John of Jerusalem. See Hospitaler. Knight of the post, one who gained his living by giving false evidence on trials, or false bail; hence, a sharper in general. "A knight of the post, . . . Quoth he, for so I am termed; a fellow that will swear you anything for twelve pence." . Knight of the shire, in England, one of the representatives of a county in Parliament, in distinction from the representatives of cities and boroughs. Knights commanders, Knights grand cross, different classes of the Order of the Bath. See Bath, and Companion. Knights of labour, a secret organization whose professed purpose is to secure and maintain the rights of workingmen as respects their relations to their employers. Knights of Pythias, a secret order, founded in Washington, d.C, in 1864, for social and charitable purposes. Knights of the Round Table, knights belonging to an order which, according to the legendary accounts, was instituted by the mythical King Arthur. They derived their common title from the table around which they sat on certain solemn days. Origin: OE. Knight, cniht, knight, soldier, As. Cniht, cneoht, a boy, youth, attendant, military follower; akin to D. & G. Knecht servant; perh. Akin to E. Kin. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Knight

knifemaker
knifemakers
knifemaking
knifeman
knifemen
knifepoint
knifepoints
knifer
knifers
knifes
knifesman
knifesmen
knifetooth sawfish
knifing
knifings
knight
knight's service
knight's tour
knight's tours
knight-errant
knight-errantries
knight-errantry
knight-erratic
knight bachelor
knight banneret
knight errantry
knight in shining armor
knight in shining armour
knight marshal
knight of the square flag

Literary usage of Knight

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1918)
"KG— Knight of the Garter. KGC—Knight of the Golden Circle; Knight of the ... KSS— Knight of the Southern Star, in Brazil; Knight of the Sword of Sweden. ..."

2. The Complete Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott by Walter Scott (1900)
"The first was a knight, and from Tynedale he came, Evermore sing the roundelay; And his fathers ... So the knight and the squire were both left in the mire, ..."

3. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Thomas Raynesford Lounsbury (1903)
"Agayn the knight this olde wyf gan ryse, 10oo And seyde, 'sir knight, heer-forth ne lyth no wey. Tel me, what that ye seken, by your fey? ..."

4. The Works of the English Poets, from Chaucer to Cowper: Including the Series by Alexander Chalmers, Samuel Johnson (1810)
"My leve mother," quod this knight, " certain, I n'am but ded, but if that I can sain, What thing it is that women most desire: Coude ye me wisse, ..."

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