Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🤴 A young nobleman 🧒 A young person
childe

childe

1 9.9
A young noble in old stories who seeks adventure
  • noun
  • /tʃaɪld/
  • Archaic
translation icon : joven noble
  • Many tales from the past feature a childe who would grow into a great hero through trials.
  • Childe Harold
  • Byron's Childe

Examples

  • Lord Byron spoke in Childe Harold about a "schoolboy's tale, the wonder of an hour!"

    Academic text (1996)

  • Lord Byron's poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" and Edward Lear's paintings of the area inspired generations of travelers to come to Gjirokastra as part of the Grand Tour.

    Academic text (2009)

  • However, Byron in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and Shelley in The Revolt of Islam and Adonais produce a great many stanzas that share features with the following:

    Academic text (2003)

  • Angel had contacted him earlier that night, claiming that Darla was still in the area and how the big poof knew that was beyond Spike because he was sure that the soul would have broken the Sire-Childe bond between the two, as he could see Darla letting Angel's compassion infect her.

    Blog text (19)

  • In medieval poetry, a childe was often depicted as a young nobleman embarking on quests.

  • The romantic notion of a childe in literature reflects the ideals of chivalry and valor.

Surface Forms

childe singular
childer plural

Etymology

Childe was also used in old stories to mean a young nobleman training to become a knight, and it comes from the same Old English root cild as child meaning 'young person'. So in legends a childe is a young hero who may later become a knight.