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.

---

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

---

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.)

---

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

On Feb. 24, 1525, the age of chivalry came to a symbolic end amid smoke and gunfire.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026

He insisted that he was an independent artist, proving the point by providing decadent, images for an edition of Thomas Malory’s paean to heroic chivalry, “Le Morte d’Arthur.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

The Order of the Garter is the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in Britain and includes other senior members of the royal family and those said to have contributed notably to public life.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2025

A small voice inside Harry’s head answered him: Their daring, nerve, and chivalry set Gryffindors apart.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

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

I have seen, too, generous sacrifices and tender considerations, to which the boasted chivalries of Sydney and Edward were childish ostentation.

From Cannibals all! or, Slaves without masters by George Fitzhugh

It was one of those fallacious chivalries of feeling which are the danger of sensitive and imaginative minds.

From Young Lives by Richard Le Gallienne

Taking the object of Don Quixote to be, what Cervantes declared it—"the causing of the false and silly books of chivalries to be abhorred by mankind"—no book was ever so successful.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 10 by John Rudd

Almost immediately afterward, it was decided that Young England ought to be represented in Parliament, where its Utopian chivalries, it was believed, needed only to be heard to prevail.

From Gossip in a Library by Edmund Gosse

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---