Knights of Pythias

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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