Adjacent Words

Cavalier definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CAVALIER, n.
1. A horseman, especially an armed horseman; a knight.
2. A gay, sprightly, military man.
3. The appellation of the party of king Charles I.
4. In fortification, an elevation of earth, situated ordinarily in the gorge of a bastion, bordered with a parapet, with embrasures.
5. In the manege, one who understands horsemanship; one skilled in the art of riding.
CAVALIER, a.
1. Gay; sprightly; warlike; brave; generous.
2. Haughty; disdainful.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: given to haughty disregard of others [syn: cavalier, high-handed] n
1: a gallant or courtly gentleman [syn: cavalier, chevalier]
2: a royalist supporter of Charles I during the English Civil War [syn: Cavalier, Royalist]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle French, from Old Italian cavaliere, from Old Occitan cavalier, from Late Latin caballarius horseman, from Latin caballus Date: 1589 1. a gentleman trained in arms and horsemanship 2. a mounted soldier ; knight 3. capitalized an adherent of Charles I of England 4. gallant II. adjective Date: circa 1641 1. debonair 2. marked by or given to offhand and often disdainful dismissal of important matters <a cavalier attitude toward money> 3. a. capitalized of or relating to the party of Charles I of England in his struggles with the Puritans and Parliament b. aristocratic c. capitalized of or relating to the English Cavalier poets of the mid-17th century • cavalierism noun • cavalierly adverb

Britannica Concise

In the English Civil Wars, the name adopted by Charles I's supporters, who contemptuously called their opponents Roundheads (a reference to the short-haired apprentices who had formed part of an anti-Cavalier mob). The term (similar to the French chevalier) originally meant a rider or cavalryman. At the Restoration, the court party preserved the name Cavalier, which survived until the rise of the term Tory. See also Cavalier poet.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 hist. (Cavalier) a supporter of Charles I in the Civil War. 2 a courtly gentleman, esp. as a lady's escort. 3 archaic a horseman. --adj. offhand, supercilious, blasé. Derivatives: cavalierly adv. Etymology: F f. It. cavaliere: see CHEVALIER

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cavalier Cav`a*lier", a. Gay; easy; offhand; frank. The plodding, persevering scupulous accuracy of the one, and the easy, cavalier, verbal fluency of the other, form a complete contrast. --Hazlitt. 2. High-spirited. [Obs.] ``The people are naturally not valiant, and not much cavalier.'' --Suckling. 3. Supercilious; haughty; disdainful; curt; brusque. 4. Of or pertaining to the party of King Charles I. ``An old Cavalier family.'' --Beaconsfield.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cavalier Cav`a*lier" (k[a^]v`[.a]*l[=e]r"), n. [F. cavalier, It. cavaliere, LL. caballarius, fr. L. caballus. See Cavalcade, and cf. Chevalier, Caballine.] 1. A military man serving on horseback; a knight. 2. A gay, sprightly, military man; hence, a gallant. 3. One of the court party in the time of king Charles I. as contrasted with a Roundhead or an adherent of Parliament. --Clarendon. 4. (Fort.) A work of more than ordinary height, rising from the level ground of a bastion, etc., and overlooking surrounding parts.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If you describe a person or their behaviour as cavalier, you are criticizing them because you think that they do not consider other people's feelings or take account of the seriousness of a situation. The Editor takes a cavalier attitude to the concept of fact checking. ADJ [disapproval]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Knight, equestrian, horseman, chevalier, horse-soldier. 2. Partisan of Charles I., royalist. 3. Beau, attendant (on a lady), partner (in a dance). II. a. Disdainful, haughty, arrogant, supercilious, scornful, insolent, curt.

Moby Thesaurus

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