cavalier English · revision 2474

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌkævəˈlɪə/ ''(UK)''; /ˌkævəˈlɪɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|cavalier|t=horseman, knight]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) [[der|it|cavaliere|t=mounted soldier, knight]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) [[der|la-lat|caballārius|t=horseman]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|la|caballus|t=horse]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) In classical Latin ''caballus'' meant a workhorse or nag, but it became the everyday word for “horse” and displaced ''equus''.^(Etymonline) The earliest English forms, ''cavaliero'' and ''cavallero'', came from Spanish and Italian, and the French spelling was adopted in the 1640s.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A horseman, especially a mounted soldier; a knight (about 1470).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Elizabethan English the word meant a courtly, gallant gentleman, but also a swaggerer.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) From 1641 ''Cavalier'' was the name for the Royalist supporters of Charles I.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The adjective first meant “gallant, brave” (1640s), then “easy, offhand” (1650s, or 1657 in Barnhart),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) and by 1817 “disdainful”,^(Etymonline) the sense in which it is mostly used today.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1470 – a horseman, a knight.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1589 – a gentleman trained to arms; a gallant.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1641–1642 – a Royalist supporter of Charles I.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1640s – adjective, gallant, brave.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1657 – adjective, offhand, haughty.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1752 – a man escorting a lady.^(OED 1989)

+ * by 1817 – adjective, disdainful.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Showing arrogant or offhand disregard for something important.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Carefree and nonchalant.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(capitalized)'' Relating to the supporters of Charles I, or to the Cavalier poets of his court.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A gallant gentleman, especially one escorting a lady.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A mounted soldier; a knight.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(capitalized)'' A supporter of Charles I in his struggle with Parliament.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cavalierly]]

+ * [[cavalierism]]

+ * [[uncavalier]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[caballero]]

+ * [[cavalry]]

+ * [[chivalry]]

+ * [[chevalier]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}