/shev'euh lear"/ or, esp. for 1, 2, /sheuh val"yay, -vahl"-/ , n.
1. a member of certain orders of honor or merit: a chevalier of the Legion of Honor.
2. Fr. Hist. the lowest title of rank in the old nobility.
3. a chivalrous man; cavalier.
4. Archaic. a knight.
[ 1250-1300; chivaler ]