Difference between revisions of "Definition: Knight" - New World Encyclopedia

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# A [[warrior]], especially of the [[Middle Ages]].
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==Etymology==
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From [[Middle English]] ''knight'', ''knyght'', ''kniht'', from [[Old English]] ''cniht'' (“boy; servant, knight”), from Proto-West Germanic ''*kneht''.
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==Noun==
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'''knight''' (plural '''knights''')
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# (historical) A young servant or follower; a trained [[military]] attendant in service of a lord.
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# (historical) A minor nobleman with an honorable military rank who had served as a page and squire.
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# An [[armor]]ed and mounted [[warrior]] of the [[Middle Ages]].  
 
#: ''King Arthur and the '''Knights''' of the Round Table''
 
#: ''King Arthur and the '''Knights''' of the Round Table''
# Nowadays, a person on whom a [[knighthood]] has been conferred by a [[monarch]].
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# (modern) A person on whom a [[knighthood]] has been conferred by a [[monarch]].
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# ([[literary]]) A brave, chivalrous, and honorable man devoted to a noble cause or love interest.
 
# {{Template:Definition: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.
 
# {{Template:Definition: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.
  
====Synonyms====
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===Derived terms===
* {{Template:Definition:sense|chess piece}} [[horse]] {{Template:Definition:italbrac|rare}}
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* [[black knight]]
 
 
====Derived terms====
 
{{Template:Definition:rel-top|Terms derived from the noun ''knight''}}
 
* [[knight adventurer]]
 
* [[knight adventurous]]
 
 
* [[knightage]]
 
* [[knightage]]
* [[Knight Bachelor]], [[knight bachelor]]
 
* [[knight-bairn]]
 
* [[knight-banneret]]
 
* [[knight baronet]]
 
* [[knight brother]]
 
* [[knight caligate of arms]]
 
* [[knight-cross]]
 
 
* [[knight-errant]]
 
* [[knight-errant]]
* [[knightess]]
 
* [[knightfully]]
 
* [[knight-head]]
 
 
* [[knighthood]]
 
* [[knighthood]]
* [[knightify]]
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* [[knight in shining armor]]
* [[knight in shining armor]], [[knight in shining armour]]
 
* [[knightless]]
 
* [[knightling]]
 
* [[knightly]]
 
* [[Knight Marshal]], [[knight-marshal]]
 
* [[knight-money]]
 
* [[knight of adventurers]]
 
* [[knight of arms]]
 
* [[Knight of Grace]]
 
* [[knight of industry]], [[knight of the industry]]
 
* [[Knight of Justice]]
 
* [[Knight of Malta]]
 
* [[Knight of Parliament]]
 
* [[Knight of Rhodes]]
 
* [[knight of St Crispin]]
 
{{Template:Definition:rel-mid3}}
 
* [[Knight of St John]]
 
* [[knight of the carpet]]
 
* [[knight of the chamber]]
 
* [[Knight of the Bath]]
 
* [[knight of the blade]]
 
* [[knight of the brush]]
 
* [[knight of the cleaver]]
 
* [[knight of the collar]]
 
* [[Knight of the Commonty]]<!--sic-->
 
* [[knight of the cue]]
 
* [[knight of the elbow]]
 
* [[knight of the field]]
 
* [[Knight of the Garter]]
 
* [[knight of the grammar]]
 
* [[knight of the knife]]
 
* [[knight of the needle]]
 
* [[knight of the order of the fork]]
 
* [[knight of the pen]]
 
* [[knight of the pencil]]
 
* [[knight of the pestle]]
 
* [[knight of the post]]
 
* [[knight of the quill]]
 
* [[knight of the rainbow]]
 
* [[knight of the road]]
 
* [[Knight of the Round Table]]
 
* [[Knight of the Rueful Countenance]]
 
* [[knight of the shears]]
 
* [[Knight of the Shire]]
 
* [[knight of the spigot]]
 
* [[Knight of the Spur]]
 
{{Template:Definition:rel-mid3}}
 
* [[knight of the square flag]]
 
* [[knight of the stick]]
 
* [[knight of the thimble]]
 
* [[Knight of the Thistle]]
 
* [[knight of the vapour]]
 
* [[knight of the wheel]]
 
* [[knight of the whip]]
 
* [[knight of the whipping-post]]
 
* [[Knight of Windsor]]
 
 
* [[Knights of Columbus]]
 
* [[Knights of Columbus]]
* [[Knights of Labor]]<!--US term, so no "Knights of Labour"-->
 
* [[Knights of Pythias]]
 
* [[knight's cross]]
 
* [[knight-service]]
 
* [[knight's fee]]
 
* [[knightship]]
 
* [[knight's milfoil]]
 
* [[knight's move]]
 
* [[knight's pondwort]]
 
* [[knight's progress]]
 
* [[knight's star]]
 
* [[knight's water-sengreen]]
 
* [[knight's wort]]
 
* [[knight's woundwort]]
 
 
* [[Knight Templar]]
 
* [[Knight Templar]]
* [[knight wager]]
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* [[white knight]]
* [[knight-weed]]
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* [[knight-wife]]
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==Verb==
* [[Military Knight of Windsor]]
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'''knight''' (third-person singular simple present '''knights''', present participle '''knighting''', simple past and past participle '''knighted''')
* [[Naval Knights of Windsor]]
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{{Template:Definition:rel-bottom}}
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# (transitive) To confer '''knighthood''' upon.
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#: ''The king '''knighted''' the young squire''.
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# ([[chess]], transitive) To promote (a pawn) to a '''knight'''.
  
 
{{Wictionary_credits|knight|5634850}}
 
{{Wictionary_credits|knight|5634850}}

Latest revision as of 15:27, 17 July 2023

Etymology

From Middle English knight, knyght, kniht, from Old English cniht (“boy; servant, knight”), from Proto-West Germanic *kneht.

Noun

knight (plural knights)

  1. (historical) A young servant or follower; a trained military attendant in service of a lord.
  2. (historical) A minor nobleman with an honorable military rank who had served as a page and squire.
  3. An armored and mounted warrior of the Middle Ages.
    King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
  4. (modern) A person on whom a knighthood has been conferred by a monarch.
  5. (literary) A brave, chivalrous, and honorable man devoted to a noble cause or love interest.
  6. 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.

Derived terms

Verb

knight (third-person singular simple present knights, present participle knighting, simple past and past participle knighted)

  1. (transitive) To confer knighthood upon.
    The king knighted the young squire.
  2. (chess, transitive) To promote (a pawn) to a knight.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors copied and adjusted this Wiktionary entry in accordance with NWE standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit for this article is due to both New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions at Wiktionary is accessible to researchers here: