knight in armor
- noun
- Informal
:
caballero
- The firefighter was hailed as a knight in armor after saving the family from the burning building.
Examples
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In her eyes, he was a true knight in armor, always ready to help anyone in need.
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Whenever disaster struck, Mary hoped a knight in armor would come to her rescue.
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He is my knight in armor!
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Many people see firefighters as knights in armor.
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The firefighter was hailed as a knight in armor after saving the family from the burning building.
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In her eyes, he was a true knight in armor, always ready to help anyone in need.
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Many people see firefighters as knight in armor who rush in during emergencies.
Synonyms
178
6.5
A man trained to fight on horseback in the Middle Ages or one given the title Sir by the monarch
10
9.9
A brave person who fights for a good cause
Antonyms
How Brave
∞
1.1
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'knight' (armored soldier) + 'in' + 'armor' evokes a protected, gallant figure, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer a brave or rescuing person. The figurative extension (a brave/saving person) follows naturally from the literal image and is common cross-linguistically (e.g. 'knight in shining armor' type metaphors), so it is accessible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Knight in armor comes from the picture of a real knight wearing strong armor who rides in to save people in danger in old stories. So, calling someone a 'knight in armor' today means they are a 'brave person' who 'helps' or 'rescues' others.