knight Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun originally a person of noble birth trained to arms and chivalry; today in Great Britain a person honored by the sovereign for personal merit
  2. noun a chessman shaped to resemble the head of a horse; can move two squares horizontally and one vertically (or vice versa)
    horse.
  3. verb raise (someone) to knighthood
    dub.
    • The Beatles were knighted

WordNet

Knight noun
Etymology
OE. knight, cniht, knight, soldier, As. cniht, cneoht, a boy, youth, attendant, military follower; akin to D. & G. knecht servant; perh. akin to E. kin.
Definitions
  1. A young servant or follower; a military attendant. Obs.
  2. (a) In feudal times, a man-at-arms serving on horseback and admitted to a certain military rank with special ceremonies, including an oath to protect the distressed, maintain the right, and live a stainless life. (b) One on whom knighthood, a dignity next below that of baronet, is conferred by the sovereign, entitling him to be addressed as Sir; as, Sir John. Eng. Hence: (c) A champion; a partisan; a lover. "Give this ring to my true knight." Shak "In all your quarrels will I be your knight." Tennyson.
    Knights, by their oaths, should right poor ladies' harms. Shak.
    ✍ Formerly, when a knight's name was not known, it was customary to address him as Sir Knight. The rank of a knight is not hereditary.
  3. A piece used in the game of chess, usually bearing a horse's head.
  4. A playing card bearing the figure of a knight; the knave or jack. Obs. Brande & C.
Knight transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Knighted; present participle & verbal noun Knighting
Definitions
  1. To dub or create (one) a knight; -- done in England by the sovereign only, who taps the kneeling candidate with a sword, saying: Rise, Sir ---.
    A soldier, by the honor-giving hand Of Cur-de-Lion knighted in the field. Shak.

Webster 1913