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knight

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knight¹

  • /ˈnaɪ̯t/ US, UK
  • [ˈnaɪ̯t] US, UK
  • /ˈnɐɪ̯t/
  • [ˈnɐɪ̯t]
  • /ˈnɜɪ̯t/
  • [ˈnɜɪ̯t]
  • /ˈnʌɪ̯t/
  • [ˈnʌɪ̯t]
  • /ˈnəɪ̯t/
  • [ˈnəɪ̯t]
  • /ˈnɑɪ̯t/ Australia, New Zealand
  • [ˈnɑ̟ɪ̯t] Australia, New Zealand
  • /ˈnɒɪ̯t/ Australia, New Zealand
  • [ˈnɒ̈ɪ̯t] Australia, New Zealand

Sounds like night, nite · Rhymes with -aɪt

Where it comes from

From Middle English knight, knyght, kniht, from Old English cniht (“boy; servant, knight”), from Proto-West Germanic *kneht.

noun knights · knyght

  1. historical A young servant or follower; a trained military attendant in service of a lord. Not all knights held fiefs, and it was not unusual for knights to buy themselves freedom from the obligations of the fief, or even to abscond with the arms provided by their lord, becoming a part of the large number of unenfeoffed, wandering knights available for hire […]
  2. historical A minor nobleman with an honourable military rank who had served as a page and squire.
  3. broadly An armored and mounted warrior of the Middle Ages. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
  4. historical A person obliged to provide knight service in exchange for maintenance of an estate held in knight's fee.
  5. modern A person on whom a knighthood has been conferred by a monarch.
  6. literary A brave, chivalrous and honorable man devoted to a noble cause or love interest.
  7. A chess piece, often in the shape of a horse's head, that is moved two squares in one direction and one at right angles to that direction in a single move, leaping over any intervening pieces. The knight may move to one of the squares nearest to that on which it stands but not on the same rank, file or diagonal. […] There are two knights, on the squares g1 and e1, and one of them moves to the square f3: either Ngf3 or Nef3, as the case may be.

    Similar: horse

  8. dated A playing card bearing the figure of a knight; the knave or jack.
  9. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Ypthima.
  10. modern Any mushroom belonging to genus Tricholoma.
  11. A species of nymphalid butterfly, Lebadea martha, found in tropical and subtropical Asia. The Knight is quite common in the Srimangal forests, especially along the beds of dry or flowing streams.

knight²

  • /ˈnaɪ̯t/ US, UK
  • [ˈnaɪ̯t] US, UK
  • /ˈnɐɪ̯t/
  • [ˈnɐɪ̯t]
  • /ˈnɜɪ̯t/
  • [ˈnɜɪ̯t]
  • /ˈnʌɪ̯t/
  • [ˈnʌɪ̯t]
  • /ˈnəɪ̯t/
  • [ˈnəɪ̯t]
  • /ˈnɑɪ̯t/ Australia, New Zealand
  • [ˈnɑ̟ɪ̯t] Australia, New Zealand
  • /ˈnɒɪ̯t/ Australia, New Zealand
  • [ˈnɒ̈ɪ̯t] Australia, New Zealand

Sounds like night, nite · Rhymes with -aɪt

Where it comes from

From Middle English knighten, kniȝten, from the noun. Cognate with Middle High German knehten.

verb knights · knighting · knighted

  1. transitive To confer knighthood upon. The king knighted the young squire.

    Similar: beknight

  2. transitive To promote (a pawn) to a knight.

Similar: dub

Knight³

  • /naɪt/

Rhymes with -aɪt

Where it comes from

From Middle English knyghte, from Old English cniht (“youth; servant”).

proper noun

  1. An English surname originating as an occupation for someone who was a mounted soldier. Though teams from China have hoisted the Summoner’s Cup, which goes to the Worlds champion, it’s always been South Korean mid laners who have starred on those teams. Erzberger said Knight wants to be the first Chinese mid laner to hoist that trophy — and maybe become a national treasure himself.
  2. A town in Iron County, Wisconsin, United States.
  3. A settlement on Saint Croix, United States Virgin Islands.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: dub, horse, ritter, gentleman, chevalier, rider, escort, sir, prince, companion, trooper, esquire, warrior, hero, charming, samurai

verb

Similar: dub

Translations

Every language

noun warrior, especially of the Middle Ages

Españolcaballero, caballera, équite
한국어기사 gisa, 나이트 naiteu
日本語騎士 kishi, ナイト naito
中文騎士 /骑士 qíshì, 大俠 /大侠 dàxiá, 爵士 juéshì
हिन्दीशूरवीर śūrvīr, राउल rāul, नाइट nāiṭ, बहादुर bahādur
Portuguêscavaleiro
Françaischevalier
DeutschRitter
Italianocavaliere
Ελληνικάιππότης ippótis
Românăcavaler
Русскийры́царь rýcarʹ, ви́тязь vítjazʹ, богаты́рь bogatýrʹ
Tiếng Việthiệp sĩ
العربيةفَارِس fāris
עבריתפָּרָשׁ parásh, אַבִּיר abír

noun person on whom a knighthood has been conferred

Españolcaballero, caballera, équite
한국어기사 gisa
日本語騎士 kishi
中文騎士 /骑士 qíshì
Portuguêscavaleiro
Françaischevalier
DeutschRitter
Italianocavaliere
Ελληνικάιππότης ippótis
Românăcavaler
Русскийры́царь rýcarʹ
עבריתאַבִּיר abír

noun chess piece

Españolcaballo
한국어나이트 naiteu
日本語ナイト naito, 桂馬 keima
中文馬 /马 mǎ, 騎士 /骑士 qíshì
हिन्दीघोड़ा ghoṛā
Kiswahilifarasi, jemadari
Portuguêscavalo
Françaiscavalier
DeutschSpringer, Pferd, Ross
Italianocavallo
Ελληνικάίππος íppos, άλογο álogo
Românăcal
Русскийконь konʹ
Tiếng Việtmã
العربيةحِصَان ḥiṣān, فَرَس faras
עבריתפָּרָשׁ parásh

verb to confer a knighthood upon

Españolacaballar
Portuguêsdar o título de cavaleiro
Françaisfaire chevalier
Deutschzum Ritter schlagen
Русскийпосвяща́ть в ры́цари posvjaščátʹ v rýcari
עבריתהעניק תואר אבירות he'eník tó'ar abirút

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Cite this
MLA

"knight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/knight. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

knight. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/knight

Chicago

"knight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/knight.

BibTeX
@misc{knight_2026,
  title = {knight},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/knight},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}