knight-errant

American  

[nahyt-er-uhnt] / ˈnaɪtˈɛr ənt /

noun

plural

knights-errant

1. a wandering knight; a knight who traveled widely in search of adventures, to exhibit military skill, to engage in chivalric deeds, etc.

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knight errant British  

noun

1. (esp in medieval romance) a knight who wanders in search of deeds of courage, chivalry, etc

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Etymology

Origin of knight-errant

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Example Sentences

Nonetheless, he is regarded by some in the astronomy community as a knight-errant, tilting at windmills.

From Scientific American • Jul. 29, 2021

One man came as a patriotic duck; another as a bald eagle; another as a cross between a knight-errant and Captain America; another as Abraham Lincoln.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 7, 2021

In Cervantes’s classic novel, a student tells the knight-errant Don Quixote, “The greater the fame of the writer, the more closely his books are scrutinized.”

From Washington Post • Sep. 3, 2019

Lots of shoes are practical, but only this one was worn by the cowboy: an American folk hero, a knight-errant figure with world-wide appeal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 21, 2018

He was a knight-errant, a Norman gentleman, ever ready to succor the oppressed, but satisfied when he had unhorsed the oppressor, though the victim lay helpless on the ground.

From Recollections and Impressions 1822-1890 by Frothingham, Octavius Brooks