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knighthood

knighthood

9 7.4
An honour given to a person by a country or ruler for public service
  • noun
  • /ˈnaɪtˌhʊd/
  • Formal
translation icon : caballería
  • "Sir" Arthur received his knighthood for services to literature in 1998.
  • received his knighthood

Blimey, first Brexit, now Dias getting a knighthood.

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Examples

  • Give that man a knighthood.

  • Another insignia of knighthood is the golden spur.

    Academic text (1996)
  • I have been given a knighthood, an estate and a wife.

  • I intend to give you a knighthood in the next honors list.

  • Sir Lancelot would not exchange his knighthood for any kingdom.

  • You are not worthy of the knighthood bestowed upon you.

  • I had the pleasure of being on duty at Buckingham Palace the day you got your knighthood.

  • Savile was awarded a papal knighthood for conspicuous service to the Church.

    Blog text (21)
  • While Rawson and Moor received knighthoods, Oba Ovonramwen was deported to Calabar, where he died in 1914.

    Academic text (1997)
  • In Great Britain, 28,000 people signed an online petition to award Ali an honorary knighthood.

How Prestigious

peerage
  • UK
3 8.9
knighthood
  • Formal
9 7.4
knight
  • UK
178 6.5
squire
  • Archaic
9 9.7
commoner
31 4.2

Surface Forms

knighthood singular
knighthoods plural

Morphology

knighthood = knight (transparent) = knight + hood

The meaning ('state, rank, or collective body of knights') follows the regular abstract/collective sense added by '-hood' to a clear noun base.

Etymology

Knighthood comes from the word knight, from the old English cniht that meant 'young man' or 'servant' who served a lord and later became a soldier who rode a horse. The ending -hood means 'state' or 'condition', as in childhood, so knighthood is the state or rank of being a knight.