Main Entry: che·va·lier

Pronunciation: \ˌshe-və-ˈlir, especially for 1b & 2 also shə-ˈval-ˌyā\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin caballarius horseman — more at cavalier

Date: 14th century

1 a : cavalier 2 b : a member of any of various orders of knighthood or of merit (as the Legion of Honor)
2 a : a member of the lowest rank of French nobility b : a cadet of the French nobility
3 : a chivalrous man