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cavalier
[ kav-uh-leer, kav-uh-leer ]
/ ˌkæv əˈlɪər, ˈkæv əˌlɪər /
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noun
adjective
verb (used without object)
to play the cavalier.
to be haughty or domineering.
OTHER WORDS FOR cavalier
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Origin of cavalier
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Middle French: “horseman, knight,” from Old Italian cavaliere, from Old Provençal, from Late Latin caballārius “man on horseback,” equivalent to Latin caball(us) “horse” (cf. capercaillie) + -ārius-ary
historical usage of cavalier
Cavalier and its Romance cognates, Spanish caballero, Portuguese cavalleiro, Italian cavaliere (source of English cavalry ), Old Northern French cavailler, cavaler, Old French and French chevalier (source of English chevalier ), all derive from Late Latin caballārius “horseman, groom,” from Latin caballus “horse, (inferior) horse for riding, packhorse, nag.” In English in the late 16th century, cavalier meant “horseman, armed horseman, knight,” and also “gentleman at arms, courtly gentleman, gallant.”
By the end of the 16th century, cavalier had also become a term of abuse, meaning “braggart, swaggerer,” as in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 2 (1596–99). This sense persisted till at least the English Civil War (1642–1651); the Puritan Roundheads called King Charles’s bellicose aristocratic supporters Cavaliers. By the mid-18th century, a cavalier also came to mean “an attendant upon or escort for a lady, a lady’s dancing partner.”
The adjective senses of cavalier, “offhand, careless, free and easy” arose in the second half of the 16th century; the negative adjective sense “haughty, disdainful” arose in the mid-18th century; the historical sense in reference to the Stuart Royalists arose in the mid-19th century.
By the end of the 16th century, cavalier had also become a term of abuse, meaning “braggart, swaggerer,” as in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 2 (1596–99). This sense persisted till at least the English Civil War (1642–1651); the Puritan Roundheads called King Charles’s bellicose aristocratic supporters Cavaliers. By the mid-18th century, a cavalier also came to mean “an attendant upon or escort for a lady, a lady’s dancing partner.”
The adjective senses of cavalier, “offhand, careless, free and easy” arose in the second half of the 16th century; the negative adjective sense “haughty, disdainful” arose in the mid-18th century; the historical sense in reference to the Stuart Royalists arose in the mid-19th century.
OTHER WORDS FROM cavalier
cav·a·lier·ism, cav·a·lier·ness, nouncav·a·lier·ly, adverbun·cav·a·lier, adjectiveun·cav·a·lier·ly, adverbWords nearby cavalier
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use cavalier in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for cavalier (1 of 2)
cavalier
/ (ˌkævəˈlɪə) /
adjective
showing haughty disregard; offhand
noun
a gallant or courtly gentleman, esp one acting as a lady's escort
archaic a horseman, esp one who is armed
Derived forms of cavalier
cavalierly, adverbWord Origin for cavalier
C16: from Italian cavaliere, from Old Provençal cavalier, from Late Latin caballārius rider, from caballus horse, of obscure origin
British Dictionary definitions for cavalier (2 of 2)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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