from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Carpet \Car"pet\ (k[aum]r"p[e^]t), n. [OF. carpite rug, soft of
cloth, F. carpette coarse packing cloth, rug (cf. It. carpita
rug, blanket), LL. carpeta, carpita, woolly cloths, fr. L.
carpere to pluck, to card (wool); cf. Gr. karpo`s fruit, E.
{Harvest}.]
1. A heavy woven or felted fabric, usually of wool, but also
of cotton, hemp, straw, etc.; esp. a floor covering made
in breadths to be sewed together and nailed to the floor,
as distinguished from a rug or mat; originally, also, a
wrought cover for tables.
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Tables and beds covered with copes instead of
carpets and coverlets. --T. Fuller.
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2. A smooth soft covering resembling or suggesting a carpet.
"The grassy carpet of this plain." --Shak.
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{Carpet beetle} or {Carpet bug} (Zool.), a small beetle
({Anthrenus scrophulari[ae]}), which, in the larval state,
does great damage to carpets and other woolen goods; --
also called {buffalo bug}.
{Carpet knight}.
(a) A knight who enjoys ease and security, or luxury, and
has not known the hardships of the field; a hero of
the drawing room; an effeminate person. --Shak.
(b) One made a knight, for some other than military
distinction or service.
{Carpet moth} (Zool.), the larva of an insect which feeds on
carpets and other woolen goods. There are several kinds.
Some are the larv[ae] of species of {Tinea} (as {Tinea
tapetzella}); others of beetles, esp. {Anthrenus}.
{Carpet snake} (Zool.), an Australian snake. See {Diamond
snake}, under {Diamond}.
{Carpet sweeper}, an apparatus or device for sweeping
carpets.
{To be on the carpet}, to be under consideration; to be the
subject of deliberation; to be in sight; -- an expression
derived from the use of carpets as table cover.
{Brussels carpet}. See under {Brussels}.
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