chivalry

American  

[shiv-uhl-ree] / ˈʃɪv əl ri /

noun

• chivalries
  plural

1. the sum of the ideal qualifications of a knight, including courtesy, generosity, valor, and dexterity in arms.

2. the rules and customs of medieval knighthood.

3. the medieval system or institution of knighthood.

4. a group of knights.

5. gallant warriors or gentlemen.

   fair ladies and noble chivalry.

6. Archaic. a chivalrous act; gallant deed.

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chivalry British  

/ ˈʃɪvəlrɪ /

noun

1. the combination of qualities expected of an ideal knight, esp courage, honour, justice, and a readiness to help the weak

2. courteous behaviour, esp towards women

3. the medieval system and principles of knighthood

4. knights, noblemen, etc, collectively

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chivalry Cultural  

1. The methods of training and standards of behavior for knights in the Middle Ages. The code of chivalry emphasized bravery, military skill, generosity in victory, piety, and courtesy to women. (Compare courtly love.)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unchivalry
  noun
• chivalric
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• chivalries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chivalry

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English chivalrie, from Anglo-French, Old French chevalerie, from chevalier chevalier + -ie -y ³

Explanation

Men behaving courteously toward women — holding the door for them, offering them their jackets when it's cold — is called chivalry. Many women consider chivalry a lost art. Nice work, fellas. Cavalry (soldiers on horseback) and chivalry have the same root: the Medieval Latin word caballarius, meaning "horseman" or "knight." In the Middle Ages, a knight was expected to be brave, loyal, and to open the tavern door for his date. Picture a knight kneeling before a maiden and kissing her hand. It's a classic image of chivalry from the storybooks. Some women wonder whether chivalry has ever existed anywhere else.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chivalry chivalries

He picks me up from Los Angeles International Airport — an act of chivalry that deserves knighthood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026

The earl of Arundel’s tomb expresses the grim realities beneath the era’s facade of chivalry: Above, he is depicted resplendent in full armor; below, as a gaunt cadaver.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026

The “age of chivalry is gone,” Edmund Burke lamented after the guillotining of Marie Antoinette of France on Oct.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026

He also gave up membership of the Order of the Garter, the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in Britain, although Buckingham Palace remains under pressure to take stronger action against him.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2025

But there were no longer any organized traces of the chivalry of the Gael Merlyn met the King as he rode back from Sorhaute—a magician rather tired, and still unmounted.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Is it possible that there are knights-errant now in the world, and that there are histories printed of real chivalries?

From The History of Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

He was very good as far as he went; and if you expect the chivalries of grace out of Nature, you "may expect," as old Fuller saith.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 46, August, 1861 by Various

High office brought to him a marked care for those little chivalries which are part of Parliamentary warfare.

From Lloyd George The Man and His Story by Frank Dilnot

Finally, the prose versions, more modern still, sharply distinguish the two chivalries, the one earthly, the other mystical.

From Literary and Philosophical Essays: French, German and Italian by Various

You say that two chivalries pitched into you, and you knocked them both over.

From The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers, Series 1 by R. H. (Robert Henry) Newell