knight的词源
英文词源
- knight
- knight: [OE] The word knight has come up in the world over the centuries. In the Old English period it simply meant ‘boy’ or ‘young man’. By the 10th century it had broadened out to ‘male servant’, and within a hundred years of that we find it being used for ‘military servant, soldier’. This is the general level or ‘rank’ at which the word’s continental relatives, German and Dutch knecht, have remained.
But in England, in the course of the early Middle Ages, knight came to denote, in the feudal system, ‘one who bore arms in return for land’, and later ‘one raised to noble rank in return for military service’. The modern notion of knighthood as a rung in the nobility, without any necessary connotations of military prowess, dates from the 16th century.
- knight (n.)
- Old English cniht "boy, youth; servant, attendant," common West Germanic (cognates: Old Frisian kniucht, Dutch knecht, Middle High German kneht "boy, youth, lad," German Knecht "servant, bondman, vassal"), of unknown origin. The plural in Middle English sometimes was knighten. Meaning "military follower of a king or other superior" is from c. 1100. Began to be used in a specific military sense in Hundred Years War, and gradually rose in importance until it became a rank in the nobility 16c. The chess piece so called from mid-15c. Knight in shining armor in figurative sense is from 1917, from the man who rescues the damsel in distress in romantic dramas (perhaps especially "Lohengrin"). Knights of Columbus, society of Catholic men, founded 1882 in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.; Knights of Labor, trade union association, founded in Philadelphia, 1869; Knights of Pythias, secret order, founded in Washington, 1864.
- knight (v.)
- "to make a knight of (someone)," early 13c., from knight (n.). Related: Knighted; knighting.
中文词源
在英国，“骑士”被称为knight，来自古英语cniht，字面意思是“年轻人、仆人”，用来表示“在战场上追随国王或上级作战的骑士”。knight不仅仅表示“骑兵”，同时还是一种荣誉称号和爵位，一般只授予立有战功的贵族。要想成为一名knight，需要从page（侍童）干起，然后是squire（侍从），然后才可能受封为骑士，但仅仅是bachelor（实习骑士），参加一定时间的作战后才能升为Banneret（方旗骑士）。
受封为骑士是一种巨大的荣誉。剥夺骑士称号的事情也有，但极为罕见。截至1793年，英国共发生过三例降级事件。1621年Francis Michell爵士被褫夺骑士头衔，在威斯敏斯特大厅举行，可见何等严重。他的马刺被收回，剑带被割断，简直是奇耻大辱。
与法国骑士chevalier一样。knight是英国最低级的贵族级别，低于男爵（baron），并且不可世袭。knight的头衔（正式称呼）是Sir，一般译为“爵士”。
knight：[naɪt] n.骑士，武士，爵士vt.授以爵位
knighthood：['naɪthʊd] n.骑士，骑士身份
该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：knight 词源，knight 含义。
来自古英语cniht,小伙，年青人，侍者，来自Proto-Germanic*knehtaz,小男孩，仆人，来自PIE*gen,压，捏，成团，词源同knob,knave.词义演变参照knave.后约在12世纪用于指国王的随从或侍卫，并最终在16世纪成为军衔和贵族称号，即骑士和爵士。
