chevalier

[ shev-uh-leer or especially for 1, 2, shuh-val-yey, -vahl- ]

/ ˌʃɛv əˈlɪər or especially for 1, 2, ʃəˈvæl yeɪ, -ˈvɑl- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chevalier ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a member of certain orders of honor or merit: a chevalier of the Legion of Honor.

French History. the lowest title of rank in the old nobility.

a chivalrous man; cavalier.

Archaic. a knight.

Nearby words

cheval de bataille, cheval glass, cheval screen, cheval-de-frise, chevalet, chevalier, chevalier, maurice, chevalier-montrachet, chevaux-de-frise, chevee, chevelure

Origin of chevalier

1250–1300; < Middle French; replacing late Middle English chivaler < Anglo-French. See cavalier

Definition for chevalier (2 of 2)

Chevalier

[ shuh-val-yey, -vahl-; French shuh-va-lyey ]

/ ʃəˈvæl yeɪ, -ˈvɑl-; French ʃə vaˈlyeɪ /

noun

Mau·rice (Au·guste)

[maw-rees aw-guh st; French moh-rees oh-gyst] /mɔˈris ˈɔ gəst; French moʊˈris oʊˈgüst/, 1888–1972, French actor and singer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chevalier

Chevalier was born in Washington, D.C., but has lived in London for the past 25 years.
Tracy Chevalier’s Novel on Ohio’s Underground Railroad|Jane Ciabattari|January 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Jacques Chirac made Boulud a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in March 2006.
The Frenchman Who Rules New York|Katie Workman|September 22, 2009|DAILY BEAST
I will tell you a secret, Chevalier; my only reason for capitulating was because I was short of powder.
Court Beauties of Old Whitehall|W. R. H. Trowbridge
He had numerous honorary distinctions and medals, and was a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.
The Annual Register 1914|Anonymous

After supper, Medini asked the chevalier to give him his revenge, and Manucci asked me to lend him a hundred sequins.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete|Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
Would he, perhaps, now that he had made me his aide, trust her to me as willingly as to the chevalier?
The Rose of Old St. Louis|Mary Dillon
The chevalier returned home about ten o'clock without having been met or recognized.
The Conspirators|Alexandre Dumas (Pere)

British Dictionary definitions for chevalier (1 of 2)

chevalier

/ (ˌʃɛˈvælɪə) /

noun

a member of certain orders of merit, such as the French Legion of Honour

French history

a mounted soldier or knight, esp a military cadet
the lowest title of rank in the old French nobility

an archaic word for knight

a chivalrous man; gallant

Word Origin for chevalier

C14: from Old French, from Medieval Latin caballārius horseman, cavalier

British Dictionary definitions for chevalier (2 of 2)

Chevalier

noun

(ˌʃɛvəˈlɪə) Albert. 1861–1923, British music hall entertainer, remembered for his cockney songs

(ˌʃɛˈvælɪə, French ʃəvalje) Maurice (mɔris). 1888–1972, French singer and film actor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012