English
knightly
Knightly comes from Middle English knyghtly ‘chivalrous, knightly, noble’, from Old English cniht ‘boy’, and ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *kneht ‘servant, knight’.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kneht‘servant, knight’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cniht‘boy’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knyght‘a knight’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500knyghtly‘chivalrous, knightly, noble’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590knightly
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kneht‘servant, knight’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cniht‘boy’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knyght‘a knight’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500knyghtly‘chivalrous, knightly, noble’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590knightly
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto VI: “Where noyse of armes, or vew of martiall guize…”
Formed from knight + -ly
Proto-West Germanic *kneht ‘servant, knight’
Old English cniht ‘boy’
Middle English knight
English knight
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *kneht
Another origin of knightly
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kneht‘servant, knight’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cniht‘boy’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knyght‘a knight’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500knyghtly‘chivalrous, knightly, noble’
- Englishtodayknightly
Today it means
adj Of or pertaining to a knight or knights.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *kneht / knightly