Knights, The

noun

a comedy (424 b.c.) by Aristophanes.

knight

[nahyt] /naɪt/

noun

a mounted soldier serving under a feudal superior in the Middle Ages.

(in Europe in the Middle Ages) a man, usually of noble birth, who after an apprenticeship as page and squire was raised to honorable military rank and bound to chivalrous conduct.

any person of a rank similar to that of the medieval knight.

a man upon whom the nonhereditary dignity of knighthood is conferred by a sovereign because of personal merit or for services rendered to the country. In Great Britain he holds the rank next below that of a baronet, and the title Sir is prefixed to the Christian name, as in Sir John Smith.

a member of any order or association that designates its members as knights.

Chess. a piece shaped like a horse's head, moved one square vertically and then two squares horizontally or one square horizontally and two squares vertically.

Nautical.

a short vertical timber having on its head a sheave through which running rigging is rove.
any other fitting or erection bearing such a sheave.

verb (used with object)

to dub or make (a man) a knight.

Origin

before 900; Middle English; Old English cniht boy, manservant; cognate with German, Dutch knecht servant

Related forms

knightless, adjective

unknighted, adjective

Can be confused

knight, night.

Examples from the web for knights

They painstakingly portrayed fair damsels and brave knights.
There is a sleeping loft, a ceiling crossed by wooden beams, paintings of knights.
Chain-mail, the coats of interlinking rings that were worn by knights of old, provides a beautiful example.
Your weekly diversion is a little puzzle about four knights and four dragons.
Turns out wizards and knights seem far less noble when they're trying to steal your stuff.
The knights were the people who would protect the castle.
The knights one day found him to inspire their plans of conquest.
The knights of labor sought to incorporate craft unions into the knights.
But the knights of labor strenuously fought to distance itself from haymarket altogether.
Towers at knights plaza all phases are complete and currently open.

British Dictionary definitions for knights

knight

/naɪt/

noun

(in medieval Europe)

(originally) a person who served his lord as a mounted and heavily armed soldier
(later) a gentleman invested by a king or other lord with the military and social standing of this rank

(in modern times) a person invested by a sovereign with a nonhereditary rank and dignity usually in recognition of personal services, achievements, etc. A British knight bears the title Sir placed before his name, as in Sir Winston Churchill

a chess piece, usually shaped like a horse's head, that moves either two squares horizontally and one square vertically or one square horizontally and two squares vertically

a heroic champion of a lady or of a cause or principle

a member of the Roman class of the equites

verb

(transitive) to make (a person) a knight; dub

Word Origin

Old English cniht servant; related to Old High German kneht boy

Knight

/naɪt/

noun

Dame Laura. 1887–1970, British painter, noted for her paintings of Gypsies, the ballet, and the circus

Word Origin and History for knights

knight

Old English cniht "boy, youth; servant, attendant," common West Germanic (cf. Old Frisian kniucht, Dutch knecht, Middle High German kneht "boy, youth, lad," German Knecht "servant, bondman, vassal"), of unknown origin. The plural in Middle English sometimes was knighten. Meaning "military follower of a king or other superior" is from c.1100. Began to be used in a specific military sense in Hundred Years War, and gradually rose in importance until it became a rank in the nobility 16c. The chess piece so called from mid-15c. Knight in shining armor in figurative sense is from 1917, from the man who rescues the damsel in distress in romantic dramas (perhaps especially "Lohengrin"). Knights of Columbus, society of Catholic men, founded 1882 in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.; Knights of Labor, trade union association, founded in Philadelphia, 1869; Knights of Pythias, secret order, founded in Washington, 1864.

"to make a knight of (someone)," early 13c., from knight (n.). Related: Knighted; knighting.

knights in Culture

knight definition

A mounted warrior in Europe in the Middle Ages. (See chivalry.)

Note: Over the centuries, knighthood gradually lost its military functions, but it has survived as a social distinction in Europe, especially in England.