cavalier
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cavalier¹
- /ˌkævəˈlɪɚ/
- /ˈkæ.vəˌlir/ US
Rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
First appears c. 1562 in a translation by Peter Whitehorne. Borrowed from Middle French cavalier (“horseman”), itself borrowed from Old Italian cavaliere (“mounted soldier, knight”), borrowed from Old Occitan cavalier, from Late Latin caballārius (“horseman”), from Latin caballus (“horse”), probably from Gaulish caballos 'nag', variant of cabillos (compare Welsh ceffyl, Breton kefel, Irish capall), akin to German (Swabish) Kōb 'nag' and Old Church Slavonic кобꙑла (kobyla) 'mare'. Previous English forms include cavalero and cavaliero. Doublet of caballero and chevalier.
adjective more cavalier · most cavalier
-
Lacking the proper care or concern for something important, reckless, rash, high-handed.
But, on the following day, no sign of Poirot. I was getting angry. He was really treating us in the most cavalier fashion.
Similar: dismissive, offhand, nonchalant · Opposite: respectful, earnest, attentive
- High-spirited.
-
Supercilious.
Similar: haughty, disdainful, curt, brusque
-
Free and easy; unconcerned with formalities
Leporello (a surname that proved the antechamber not to be wholly illiterate), far from resembling Don Juan’s trembling valet, was a handsome young man, with an animated face, nimble in gait, and of cavalier manners; wearing elegantly enough the clothes which had, doubtless, appertained to his maste
Opposite: stiff
- Of or pertaining to the party of King Charles I of England (1600–1649).
noun cavaliers
-
A military man serving on horse, (chiefly) early modern cavalry officers who had abandoned the heavy armor of medieval knights.
Similar: chevalier
- A gallant: a sprightly young dashing military man.
- A gentleman of the class of such officers.
- Alternative letter-case form of Cavalier, a royalist partisan of Charles I of England during the English Civil War, especially from the upper classes.
-
Someone with an uncircumcised penis.
The roundheads in the school showers easily equalled the cavaliers.
Opposite: roundhead
- A defensive work rising from a bastion, etc., and overlooking the surrounding area.
verb cavaliers · cavaliering · cavaliered
- Of a man: to act in a gallant and dashing manner toward (women). His social and kind nature is inferred from his cavaliering the ladies Percy and Mortimer, and introducing them, before their husbands depart for the war.
Cavalier²
Where it comes from
Misspelling of Cavileer, after Charles Cavileer, an early settler.
proper noun
- A small city, the county seat of Pembina County, North Dakota, United States.
Cavalier³
Where it comes from
From cavalier, q.v.
noun Cavaliers
-
A royalist partisan of Charles I of England during the English Civil War, especially from the upper classes.
Similar: Royalist · Opposite: Roundhead, Parliamentarian
- A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
- A Chevrolet Cavalier.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: high-handed, domineering, chevalier, negligent, offhand, ruthless, reckless, unashamed, nonchalant, impertinent, glib, dismissive, impudent, insolent, cheeky, casual
Translations
Every language
adj not caring enough about something important
| Français | cavalier, cavalière, nonchalant, nonchalante |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | nachlässig |
| Italiano | noncurante |
| العربية | غَيْر مُكْتَرِث ḡayr muktariṯ |
adj supercilious, haughty, disdainful
| Français | cavalier |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | hochmütig |
| Русский | надме́нный nadménnyj, высокоме́рный vysokomérnyj |
noun well mannered man; a gentleman
| Español | caballero |
|---|---|
| Português | cavalheiro |
| Français | cavalier |
| Deutsch | Kavalier |
| Русский | кавале́р kavalér, ры́царь rýcarʹ |
noun military man serving on horse
| Español | caballero |
|---|---|
| Français | chevalier, cavalier |
| Deutsch | Kavallerist |
| Italiano | cavaliere |
| Русский | кавалери́ст kavaleríst |
Talk about this word "cavalier." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cavalier. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. cavalier. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cavalier "cavalier." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cavalier.Cite this
@misc{cavalier_2026,
title = {cavalier},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cavalier},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
