chivalry
respect and courtesy, particularly towards women
TRANSLATION
chivalry = die Ritterlichkeit, das galante Benehmen --- GOOGLE INDEX chivalry: approximately 12,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
A 2010 Harris Poll showed eight out of 10 Americans say women today are treated with less CHIVALRY than in the past.
(Long Beach Post Telegram)
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Some say that the age of CHIVALRY is past, that the spirit of romance is dead. The age of chivalry is never past, so long as there is a wrong left unredressed on earth.
(Edmond Burke, Irish statesman and philosopher)
(Long Beach Post Telegram)
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Some say that the age of CHIVALRY is past, that the spirit of romance is dead. The age of chivalry is never past, so long as there is a wrong left unredressed on earth.
(Edmond Burke, Irish statesman and philosopher)
Did you
know?
chivalry
noun
- kindness and courteousness especially towards women or the weak
(Cambridge Dictionary)
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So much has been written about the death of chivalry that one would think it's time to eliminate this term from English dictionaries. Nevertheless, the word continues to survive, perhaps in the hope that it will enjoy a revival. Some might argue that chivalry never died and that it has simply taken on new forms since its roots in Medieval culture.
Chivalry, which originally referred to horsemanship, was formed from the Old French "chevalier," (horseman, knight) and eventually from the Medieval Latin caballārius. Chevalier meant a man of aristocratic standing, and often of noble ancestry, who is capable of equipping himself with a war horse and the arms of heavy cavalryman. In other words, a knight in shining armour.
As the knight culture disappeared, chivalry changed to mean a true gentleman; a man who opens doors for women, helps them out of a car, seats them at a table. Relying on this definition, it's easy to understand why some people insist that chivalry is dead and this is why the major dictionaries now use the more general definition of kindness and courteousness.
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SYNONYMS
courtesy, courtliness, gallantry, politeness, valour
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The boss opened the door for me. I guess chivalry is not dead."
noun
- kindness and courteousness especially towards women or the weak
(Cambridge Dictionary)
---
So much has been written about the death of chivalry that one would think it's time to eliminate this term from English dictionaries. Nevertheless, the word continues to survive, perhaps in the hope that it will enjoy a revival. Some might argue that chivalry never died and that it has simply taken on new forms since its roots in Medieval culture.
Chivalry, which originally referred to horsemanship, was formed from the Old French "chevalier," (horseman, knight) and eventually from the Medieval Latin caballārius. Chevalier meant a man of aristocratic standing, and often of noble ancestry, who is capable of equipping himself with a war horse and the arms of heavy cavalryman. In other words, a knight in shining armour.
As the knight culture disappeared, chivalry changed to mean a true gentleman; a man who opens doors for women, helps them out of a car, seats them at a table. Relying on this definition, it's easy to understand why some people insist that chivalry is dead and this is why the major dictionaries now use the more general definition of kindness and courteousness.
---
SYNONYMS
courtesy, courtliness, gallantry, politeness, valour
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The boss opened the door for me. I guess chivalry is not dead."
