Etymograph

English

knightship

Knightship comes from Middle English knyghtschipe ‘Bravery, nobility’, from knyght ‘soldier, knight’, and ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *kneht.

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kneht‘servant, knight’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150cniht‘boy’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knyght‘soldier, knight’
  4. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500knyghtschipe‘Bravery, nobility’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1864-1865knightship

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kneht‘servant, knight’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150cniht‘boy’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500knyght‘soldier, knight’
  4. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500knyghtschipe‘Bravery, nobility’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1864-1865knightship

Earliest quotation: 1864-1865, Anthony Trollope: “No selection from the alphabet, no doctorship, no fellowship,…”

Equivalent to knight + ship

Proto-West Germanic *kneht ‘servant, knight’

Old English cniht ‘boy’

Middle English knight

English knight

Proto-Germanic *skipą ‘ship’

Proto-West Germanic *skip

Old English sċip

Middle English chip

English ship

Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *kneht

Today it means

noun The honor bestowed that makes someone a knight.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *kneht / knightship

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