knight bachelor
- noun
- UK
:
caballero bachelor
- He was made a knight bachelor for his services to the crown.
Examples
-
He was honored as a knight bachelor for his bravery.
-
Many knight bachelors served in the king's army.
-
As a knight bachelor, he was not part of any chivalric order.
-
The ceremony honored new knights bachelor alongside other decorated individuals.
-
He was made a knight bachelor for his services to the crown.
-
The ceremony honored new knights bachelor alongside other decorated individuals.
-
As a knight bachelor, he was not part of any chivalric order.
Synonyms
178
6.5
A man trained to fight on horseback in the Middle Ages or one given the title Sir by the monarch
1
9.9
A low-ranking medieval knight allowed to show only a small flag
A low-ranking knight allowed to carry only a small flag on a lance
How High
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally a subtype (a kind of knight), so a learner who knows 'knight' and an older/historical sense of 'bachelor' might infer it denotes a particular kind of knight. However, the precise sense — the lowest rank and not belonging to chivalric orders — is specialized historical/administrative knowledge that is not predictable from the common modern meaning of 'bachelor' (unmarried man), so full comprehension without prior exposure is unlikely.
Etymology
Knight bachelor comes from medieval times. Back then a 'bachelor' meant a young or low-ranking fighter with no banner or group, so a knight bachelor was a knight who served but was 'not part of an order', which is why the term now means a low-ranking knight not in an order.