Chivaler

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for a knight, a mounted soldier of noble rank bound by the code of medieval military service
2. An old word meaning a horseman or armored warrior, especially one of noble birth who fought on horseback
3. A medieval designation for a mounted fighting man, typically a gentleman sworn to serve a lord in battle

Etymology: "Chivaler" is an obsolete English noun, recorded in Middle English, meaning a knight or a mounted warrior. It was borrowed from Old French "chevaler", a derivative of "cheval", meaning horse, which descends from Latin "caballus", a word for a workhorse or nag. So the word's core idea is simply "one who rides a horse," the horse coming before the honor. Its formation tracks the French pattern of turning a noun for an animal into a term for the person who rides or serves it. The English form stayed close to its French source before the spelling and usage later gave way to "knight," which came from Old English "cniht," a word originally meaning a young servant or boy.