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knight

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In the middle ages a knight was defined as a nobleman who served a king as a mounted man-of-arms; but today, a knight is used to refer to someone who has been honored by the monarch of England for their achievements.

(noun)

An example of a knight was Sir Lancelot, who was a knight in King Arthur's Court.
An example of a knight is Sir Elton John, who was knighted by the Queen of England.

The definition of knight is to give someone the honor of being called "knight."

(verb)

When the queen of England honored Sir Elton John for his contributions to music and made him a "knight," this is an example of the Queen doing the act of knighting him.

See knight in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

in the Middle Ages,
1. a military servant of a king or other feudal superior; tenant holding land on condition that he serve his superior as a mounted man-at-arms
2. later, a man, usually one of high birth, who after serving as page and squire was formally raised to special military rank and pledged to chivalrous conduct
in Great Britain, a man who for some achievement is given honorary nonhereditary rank next below a baronet, entitling him to use Sir before his given name
an ancient Roman, Athenian, etc. whose status is regarded as equivalent to that of a knight
a member of any order or society that officially calls its members knights
Old Poet.
1. a lady's devoted champion or attendant
2. a devoted follower of some cause, person, etc.
Chess a piece usually shaped like a horse's head: it is moved one square, whether occupied or unoccupied, in any vertical or horizontal direction, and then one square farther diagonally

Origin: ME kniht < OE cniht, boy, retainer, akin to Ger knecht, lad, servant < IE *gnegh-: for base see knead

transitive verb

to make (a man) a knight

See knight in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

a. Abbr. Knt. or Kt. A medieval tenant giving military service as a mounted man-at-arms to a feudal landholder.
b. Abbr. Knt. or Kt. A medieval gentleman-soldier, usually high-born, raised by a sovereign to privileged military status after training as a page and squire.
c. Abbr. K. A man holding a nonhereditary title conferred by a sovereign in recognition of personal merit or service to the country.
Abbr. Knt. or Kt. A man belonging to an order or brotherhood.
a. A defender, champion, or zealous upholder of a cause or principle.
b. The devoted champion of a lady.
Abbr. Kt or N Games A chess piece, usually in the shape of a horse's head, that can be moved two squares along a rank and one along a file or two squares along a file and one along a rank. The knight is the only piece that can jump other pieces to land on an open square.