Knight of the post

Knight \Knight\, n. [OE. knight, cniht, knight, soldier, AS.
   cniht, cneoht, a boy, youth, attendant, military follower;
   akin to D. & G. knecht servant; perh. akin to E. kin.]
   1. A young servant or follower; a military attendant. [Obs.]
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   2.
      (a) In feudal times, a man-at-arms serving on horseback
          and admitted to a certain military rank with special
          ceremonies, including an oath to protect the
          distressed, maintain the right, and live a stainless
          life.
      (b) One on whom knighthood, a dignity next below that of
          baronet, is conferred by the sovereign, entitling him
          to be addressed as Sir; as, Sir John. [Eng.] Hence:
      (c) A champion; a partisan; a lover. "Give this ring to my
          true knight." Shak "In all your quarrels will I be
          your knight." --Tennyson.
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                Knights, by their oaths, should right poor
                ladies' harms.                    --Shak.
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   Note: Formerly, when a knight's name was not known, it was
         customary to address him as Sir Knight. The rank of a
         knight is not hereditary.
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   3. A piece used in the game of chess, usually bearing a
      horse's head.
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   4. A playing card bearing the figure of a knight; the knave
      or jack. [Obs.]
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   {Carpet knight}. See under {Carpet}.

   {Knight of industry}. See {Chevalier d'industrie}, under
      {Chevalier}.

   {Knight of Malta}, {Knight of Rhodes}, {Knight of St. John of
   Jerusalem}. See {Hospitaler}.

   {Knight of the post}, one who gained his living by giving
      false evidence on trials, or false bail; hence, a sharper
      in general. --Nares. "A knight of the post, . . . quoth
      he, for so I am termed; a fellow that will swear you
      anything for twelve pence." --Nash.

   {Knight of the shire}, in England, one of the representatives
      of a county in Parliament, in distinction from the
      representatives of cities and boroughs.

   {Knights commanders}, {Knights grand cross}, different
      classes of the Order of the Bath. See under {Bath}, and
      {Companion}.

   {Knights of labor}, a secret organization whose professed
      purpose is to secure and maintain the rights of workingmen
      as respects their relations to their employers. [U. S.]

   {Knights of Pythias}, a secret order, founded in Washington,
      D. C., in 1864, for social and charitable purposes.

   {Knights of the Round Table}, knights belonging to an order
      which, according to the legendary accounts, was instituted
      by the mythical King Arthur. They derived their common
      title from the table around which they sat on certain
      solemn days. --Brande & C.
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Post \Post\, n. [AS., fr. L. postis, akin to ponere, positum, to
   place. See {Position}, and cf. 4th {Post}.]
   1. A piece of timber, metal, or other solid substance, fixed,
      or to be fixed, firmly in an upright position, especially
      when intended as a stay or support to something else; a
      pillar; as, a hitching post; a fence post; the posts of a
      house.
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            They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the
            two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the
            houses.                               --Ex. xii. 7.
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            Then by main force pulled up, and on his shoulders
            bore,
            The gates of Azza, post and massy bar. --Milton.
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            Unto his order he was a noble post.   --Chaucer.
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   Note: Post, in the sense of an upright timber or strut, is
         used in composition, in such words as king-post,
         queen-post, crown-post, gatepost, etc.
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   2. The doorpost of a victualer's shop or inn, on which were
      chalked the scores of customers; hence, a score; a debt.
      [Obs.]
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            When God sends coin
            I will discharge your post.           --S. Rowlands.
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   {From pillar to post}. See under {Pillar}.

   {Knight of the post}. See under {Knight}.

   {Post hanger} (Mach.), a bearing for a revolving shaft,
      adapted to be fastened to a post.

   {Post hole}, a hole in the ground to set the foot of a post
      in.

   {Post mill}, a form of windmill so constructed that the whole
      fabric rests on a vertical axis firmly fastened to the
      ground, and capable of being turned as the direction of
      the wind varies.

   {Post and stall} (Coal Mining), a mode of working in which
      pillars of coal are left to support the roof of the mine.
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