Eques

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of cavalryman in ancient Rome associated with a specific social class
2. referring to a knight or horseman in medieval contexts within chivalric orders
3. denoting anything related to horseback riding, particularly in the context of equestrian sports or activities

Etymology: "Eques" is the Latin word for "horseman," and in ancient Rome it named a specific social class. The equites were the order of citizens below the senators, originally the men wealthy enough to serve in the cavalry, and over time they became a separate group of landowners, businessmen and officials. The word therefore carried a sense of rank and property as much as of riding, which is why a Roman "eques" was a knight in the social sense before he was ever thought of as a rider. English took the word directly from Latin, and in its own spelling it survives mostly in names and technical contexts rather than in everyday speech. The more familiar English descendants come through it, such as "equestrian," which keeps the same core meaning of horseback riding and its related activities.

Synonyms: knight, horseman, cavalryman, rider, mounted soldier