Chivalrie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The code and customs of medieval knighthood ; gallant, honorable and courteous conduct, especially toward women ; an archaic name for the body of knights taken together
2. The honor-bound system governing medieval knights ; polite and noble behavior shown especially to ladies ; the knights of an earlier age considered as one company
3. The customs and ideals that governed medieval warriors ; a gentlemanly courtesy and sense of honor, particularly toward women ; knighthood viewed collectively in older usage

Etymology: The root meaning is plain and surprising: the word comes from a Latin term for a workhorse. "Caballus" was a common, rather humble word for a horse, and "caballarius" referred to a horseman. Old French turned that into "chevalier," a mounted warrior, and "chevalerie," the collective body of such warriors. In Middle English, the form "chivalrie" first meant the mounted fighting class and its way of life. Only later did it come to name the ideals of courtesy, courage, and loyalty that knights were expected to show. The sense of a knightly code grew out of the status of the mounted warrior, not the other way round. Cavalry shares this root. It came into English through Italian "cavalleria," which also derives from "caballus," so the military horsemen and the knightly ideal both trace back to the same ordinary animal.

Synonyms: chivalry, gallantry, courtesy

Antonyms: rudeness, discourtesy, boorishness