n. & v.
n. 1 a man awarded a non-hereditary title (Sir) by a sovereign in recognition of merit or service. 2 hist. a a man, usu. noble, raised esp. by a sovereign to honourable military rank after service as a page and squire. b a military follower or attendant, esp. of a lady as her champion in a war or tournament. 3 a man devoted to the service of a woman, cause, etc. 4 Chess a piece usu. shaped like a horse's head. 5 a Rom.Hist. a member of the class of equites, orig. the cavalry of the Roman army. b Gk hist. a citizen of the second class in Athens. 6 (in full knight of the shire) hist. a gentleman representing a shire or county in parliament.
v.tr. confer a knighthood on. knight bachelor (pl. knights bachelor) a knight not belonging to a special order. knight commander see COMMANDER. knight errant 1 a medieval knight wandering in search of chivalrous adventures. 2 a man of a chivalrous or quixotic nature. knight-errantry the practice or conduct of a knight errant. Knight Hospitaller (pl. Knights Hospitaller) a member of an order of monks with a military history, founded at Jerusalem c.1050. knight marshal hist. an officer of the royal household with judicial functions. knight of the road colloq. 1 a highwayman. 2 a commercial traveller. 3 a tramp. 4 a lorry driver or taxi driver. knight-service hist. the tenure of land by military service. Knight Templar (pl. Knights Templar) a member of a religious and military order for the protection of pilgrims to the Holy Land, suppressed in 1312. knighthood n. knightlike adj. knightly adj. & adv. poet. knightliness n.
[ OE cniht boy, youth, hero f. WG ]