Knight

Pronunciation

• enPR: nÄ«t, IPA: /naɪt/
• Rhymes: -aɪt
• Homophones: night, nite

From Middle English knight, kniht, from Old English cniht, cneht, cneoht ("boy, youth, servant, attendant, retainer, disciple, warrior, boyhood, junior member of a guild"), from Proto-Germanic *knehtaz (compare Dutch knecht ("attendant, servant"), German Knecht ("lad, slave")), originally ‘billet (wood), block of wood’ (compare Dutch laarzeknecht ("boot-jack"), dialectal German Knüchtel ("bat, club")), from Proto-Indo-European *gnegʰ-, from *gen- ‘to ball up, pinch, compress’.

Full definition of knight

Noun

1. A warrior, especially of the Middle Ages.King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
2. A young servant or follower; a military attendant.
3. Nowadays, a person on whom a knighthood has been conferred by a monarch.
4. (chess) A chess piece, often in the shape of a horse's head, that is moved two squares in one direction and one at right angles to that direction in a single move, leaping over any intervening pieces.
5. (card games, dated) A playing card bearing the figure of a knight; the knave or jack.

Synonyms

• (chess piece) horse rare

Derived terms

From Middle English knighten, kniȝten, from the noun. Cognate with Middle High German knehten.

Verb

1. (transitive) To confer knighthood upon.The king knighted the young squire.
2. (chess, transitive) To promote (a pawn) to a knight.

Synonyms

• dub

Derived terms