Gawain

[ gah-win, gaw- ]

noun

1. Arthurian Legend. one of the knights of the Round Table: a nephew of King Arthur.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gawain¹

From Old French Gauvain, Gavain, from Medieval Latin Galvaginus, Gwalguanus, often considered to be a corruption of Welsh Gwalchmei, perhaps from gwalch “hawk” ( Galahad ( def ) ) and a second element of uncertain origin, possibly either maes “field” + Mai May ( def )

Example Sentences

Another is that we’ve slipped into Gawain’s headspace, imagining himself as a corpse, and that’s what motivates him to keep going.

From Vox

Then the camera slowly turns in a full circle, revealing the rotted corpse of Gawain.

From Vox

The “green knight” of the traditional title refers to the knight with whom Gawain tangles, whose skin is described as green.

From Vox

The oldest is the 14th century’s “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” which will be getting a big-screen adaptation this summer, making it much less under-recognized.

From Washington Post

Writer and director David Lowery adapts the classic medieval legend of Sir Gawain, with Dev Patel starring as King Arthur’s fearsome nephew.

From Time

Chretien de Troyes has Yvain and Gawain fighting anonymously for hours without stopping until night forces them to draw back.

From The Daily Beast

As Gawain rides along the bank of a creek, he hears this sickening sound ringing from above.

From The Daily Beast

Gawain is less a personality than a piece of granite, a man “whose glory waxed / as times darkened.”

From The Daily Beast

Numerous mistakes have thus arisen, such as rolke for rokke (a rock) in Gawain Douglas, and many more of the same kind.

From Project Gutenberg

This metre was also employed by Gawain Douglas in his translation of Vergil.

From Project Gutenberg

Gawain does not pay court to Elaine, nor does Arthur rebuke him, as in the poem.

From Project Gutenberg

The poet will now for a while recount the adventures of Gawain; whom many have held to be as valiant a knight as Parzival.

From Project Gutenberg

No such adventures are recorded in any Romance that has come down to us; but they are quite in keeping with Gawain's character.

From Project Gutenberg