knight
Other forms: knights; knighted; knighting
Traditionally the noun knight means someone born of the nobility and trained to fight, usually in heavy metal armor. If a king decides to knight you, that means the king wants to make you into a knight.
Real life knights haven’t been around since the Middle Ages, which ended around 600 years ago. These days knight is an honorary title awarded by nations with royal families like the UK. These nations will knight anyone they think is deserving from a rock star to a politician. More casually, you can use knight to describe anyone who acts chivalrously, or bravely. If you are rescued from a burning building, you might call your rescuer, a "knight in shining armor."
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originally a person of noble birth trained to arms and chivalry; today in Great Britain a person honored by the sovereign for personal merit
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examples:
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Sir Geraint
(Arthurian legend) one of the knights of the Round Table
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types:
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carpet knight
a knight who spends his time in luxury and idleness (knighted on the carpet at court rather than on the field of battle)
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bachelor, bachelor-at-arms, knight bachelor
a knight of the lowest order; could display only a pennon
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banneret, knight banneret, knight of the square flag
a knight honored for valor; entitled to display a square banner and to hold higher command
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Knight of the Round Table
in the Arthurian legend, a knight of King Arthur's court
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knight-errant
a wandering knight travelling in search of adventure
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Knight Templar, Templar
a knight of a religious military order established in 1118 to protect pilgrims and the Holy Sepulcher
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type of:
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male aristocrat
a man who is an aristocrat
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Sir Geraint
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raise (someone) to knighthood
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a chessman shaped to resemble the head of a horse; can move two squares horizontally and one vertically (or vice versa)
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synonyms:
horse
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type of:
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chess piece, chessman
any of 16 white and 16 black pieces used in playing the game of chess
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chess piece, chessman
/naɪt/
/naɪt/
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