chivalrous
/ˈʃɪv(ə)lrəs
/adjective
1(Of a man or his behaviour) courteous and gallant, especially towards women: teachers may be more chivalrous towards girls...
- His son appeared as ‘this most gallant man and chivalrous prince’ who, at his death in 1376, a year before Edward III himself died, ‘was deeply mourned for his noble qualities’.
- A chivalrous guy who is tall, dark and handsome (yes, the good old TDH) stands tall in his social circle.
- A chivalrous chap, Randall gives the girl a shoulder to cry on, although Hopkirk feels that his corporeal colleague is being perhaps a little too attentive.
Synonyms
gallant, gentlemanly, honourable, respectful, thoughtful, considerate, protective, attentive;
courteous, polite, gracious, well mannered, urbane, courtly
dated mannerly
archaic gentle
1.1Relating to the historical concept of chivalry: the concept of chivalrous combat...
- His destiny, he believed, was to be a great historical novelist chronicling chivalrous knights and glorious deeds, and from that viewpoint Holmes was a liability, and his popularity exasperating.
- Arthur unites the disorganized tribes of Britain into a kingdom ruled by chivalrous, noble knights.
- ‘Wu xia’ means chivalrous combat, and ‘pian’ means film.
Synonyms
knightly, noble, chivalric;
brave, courageous, bold, valiant, valorous, heroic, daring, intrepid;
honourable, high-minded, just, fair, loyal, constant, true, virtuous
Derivatives
chivalrously
/ adverb ...- The newspaper reported that the 23-year-old heartthrob popped the question after chivalrously asking for permission from Diaz's parents.
- Each girl's escort is responsible for her, at least for an evening, a convention that forces college boys to see themselves as protectors and to act chivalrously.
- Jianyi chivalrously changes places with Rashid.
chivalrousness
- Ancillary to the dangerous neighorhoods and my chivalrousness was the fact that she was large-chested and Swedish.
- Men fell over backward being courteous to Rose, and she took full advantage of their chivalrousness.
- Daisuke Nagai was secretly in love with Michiyo in his college days, but gave up marrying her with chivalrousness as he learned his classmate was much in love with her.
Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense 'characteristic of a medieval knight'): from Old French chevalerous, from chevalier (see chevalier).