Adjacent Words

Gallant definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GAL'LANT, a. [Eng. could; L. gallus, a cock.]
1. Gay; well dressed; showy; splendid; magnificent.
Neither shall gallant ships pass thereby. Isaiah 33.
The gay, the wise, the gallant, and the grave.
[This sense is obsolete.]
2. Brave; high-spirited; courageous; heroic; magnanimous; as a gallant youth; a gallant officer.
3. Fine; noble.
4. Courtly; civil; polite and attentive to ladies; courteous.
GALLANT', n. A gay, sprightly man; a courtly or fashionable man.
1. A man who is polite and attentive to ladies; one who attends upon ladies at parties, or to places of amusement.
2. A wooer; a lover; a suitor.
3. In an ill sense, one who caresses a woman for lewd purposes.
GALLANT', v.t. To attend or wait on, as a lady.
1. To handle with grace or in a modish manner; as, to gallant a fan.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: unflinching in battle or action; "a gallant warrior"; "put up a gallant resistance to the attackers"
2: lively and spirited; "a dashing hero" [syn: dashing, gallant]
3: having or displaying great dignity or nobility; "a gallant pageant"; "lofty ships"; "majestic cities"; "proud alpine peaks" [syn: gallant, lofty, majestic, proud]
4: being attentive to women like an ideal knight [syn: chivalrous, gallant, knightly] n
1: a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance [syn: dandy, dude, fop, gallant, sheik, beau, swell, fashion plate, clotheshorse]
2: a man who attends or escorts a woman [syn: squire, gallant]

Merriam Webster's

biographical name Mavis 1922- originally Mavis de Trafford Young Canadian-French writer

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Date: 14th century 1. a young man of fashion 2. a. ladies' man b. suitor c. paramour II. adjective Etymology: Middle English galaunt, from Middle French galant, from present participle of galer to have a good time, from Old French, from gale pleasure, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English wela weal — more at weal Date: 15th century 1. showy in dress or bearing ; smart 2. a. splendid, stately <a gallant ship> b. spirited, brave <gallant efforts against the enemy> c. nobly chivalrous and often self-sacrificing 3. courteously and elaborately attentive especially to ladies Synonyms: see civil • gallantly adverb III. verb Date: 1672 transitive verb 1. to pay court to (a lady) ; attend <used to gallant her in his youth — Washington Irving> 2. obsolete to manipulate (a fan) in a modish manner intransitive verb to pay court to ladies

Britannica Concise

Canadian-French writer. Born in Montreal, she moved to Europe in 1950 and settled in Paris. Her essays, novels, plays, and especially short stories delineate in unsentimental prose and with trenchant wit the isolation, detachment, and fear that afflict rootless N. Amer. and European expatriates. the New Yorker has published more than 100 of her stories (more than of any other writer) and much of her nonfiction.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., n., & v. --adj. 1 brave, chivalrous. 2 a (of a ship, horse, etc.) grand, fine, stately. b archaic finely dressed. 3 a markedly attentive to women. b concerned with sexual love; amatory. --n. 1 a ladies' man; a lover or paramour. 2 archaic a man of fashion; a fine gentleman. --v. 1 tr. flirt with. 2 tr. escort; act as a cavalier to (a lady). 3 intr. a play the gallant. b (foll. by with) flirt. Derivatives: gallantly adv. Etymology: ME f. OF galant part. of galer make merry

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gallant Gal*lant" (?; 277), n. 1. A man of mettle or spirit; a gay; fashionable man; a young blood. --Shak. 2. One fond of paying attention to ladies. 3. One who wooes; a lover; a suitor; in a bad sense, a seducer. --Addison. Note: In the first sense it is by some ortho["e]pists (as in Shakespeare) accented on the first syllable.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gallant Gal"lant, a. [F. gallant, prop. p. pr. of OF. galer to rejoice, akin to OF. gale amusement, It. gala ornament; of German origin; cf. OHG. geil merry, luxuriant, wanton, G. geil lascivious, akin to AS. g?l wanton, wicked, OS. g?l merry, Goth. gailjan to make to rejoice, or perh. akin to E. weal. See Gala, Galloon.] 1. Showy; splendid; magnificent; gay; well-dressed. The town is built in a very gallant place. --Evelyn. Our royal, good and gallant ship. --Shak. 2. Noble in bearing or spirit; brave; high-spirited; courageous; heroic; magnanimous; as, a gallant youth; a gallant officer. That gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds. --Shak. The gay, the wise, the gallant, and the grave. --Waller. Syn: Gallant, Courageous, Brave. Usage: Courageous is generic, denoting an inward spirit which rises above fear; brave is more outward, marking a spirit which braves or defies danger; gallant rises still higher, denoting bravery on extraordinary occasions in a spirit of adventure. A courageous man is ready for battle; a brave man courts it; a gallant man dashes into the midst of the conflict.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gallant Gal*lant", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gallanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Gallanting.] 1. To attend or wait on, as a lady; as, to gallant ladies to the play. 2. To handle with grace or in a modish manner; as, to gallant a fan. [Obs.] --Addison.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gallant Gal*lant" (?; 277), a. Polite and attentive to ladies; courteous to women; chivalrous.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If someone is gallant, they behave bravely and honourably in a dangerous or difficult situation. (OLD-FASHIONED) The gallant soldiers lost their lives so that peace might reign again. = brave ADJ • gallantly The town responded gallantly to the War. = bravely ADV: ADV with v 2. A gallant effort or fight is one in which someone tried very hard to do something difficult, although in the end they failed. (WRITTEN) He died at the age of 82, after a gallant fight against illness. = valiant, brave ADJ: ADJ n [approval] 3. If a man is gallant, he is kind, polite, and considerate towards women. (OLD-FASHIONED) Douglas was a complex man, thoughtful, gallant, and generous. = courteous ADJ • gallantly He gallantly kissed Marie's hand as we prepared to leave. = courteously ADV: ADV with v

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

gal'-ant: The translation of 'addir, "bright," "splendid," "mighty" (Isa 33:21, "Neither shall gallant ('addir) ship pass thereby"); the word is translated "mighty" in Ex 15:10; 1Sa 4:8; Isa 10:34; Zec 11:2 the King James Version. In Isa 33:21, above, it is applied to Yahweh. "glorious ('addir) Lord" the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "Yahweh .... in .... majesty"; compare also Ps 16:3, "the excellent." As a noun it is used in the margin of Na 2:5 as alternative for "worthies," the Revised Version (British and American) "nobles" in Zec 11:2, for "the might "Revised Version" "goodly ones" margin, "glorious"; it is translated "nobles" in Jud 5:13; 2Ch 23:20, etc.

See also SHIPS AND BOATS.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Gay, showy, fine, splendid, magnificent, well-dressed. 2. Courageous, brave, valiant, intrepid, valorous, heroic, chivalrous, fearless, bold, daring, high-spirited. 3. Magnanimous, noble, chivalrous, high-minded, fine, lofty, honorable. 4. Attentive to ladies, polite, courteous. 5. Fond of women, given to courtship. II. n. 1. Beau, spark, cicisbeo. 2. Suitor, wooer, lover. 3. Paramour. III. v. a. Wait on (ladies), be attentive to.

Moby Thesaurus

Achilles, Beau Brummel, Casanova, David, Don Juan, Hector, Lothario, Roland, Romeo, Samson, a man, abandoned, admirer, adorer, amorist, amoroso, attentive, beau, beloved, blade, blood, bold, bold-spirited, boulevardier, boyfriend, brave, bravura, braw, buck, bulldog, caballero, cavalier, cavaliere servente, ceremonious, champion, chevalier, chichi, chivalric, chivalrous, chutzpanik, clotheshorse, considerate, courageous, courteous, courtly, coxcomb, dandy, daring, dashing, date, dauntless, debauched, debauchee, decorated hero, demigod, demigoddess, dignified, dirty old man, dissipated, dissolute, doughty, dressy, dude, elegant, escort, esquire, exhibitionistic, exquisite, fashion plate, fast, fearless, fellow, fighting cock, fine, fine gentleman, flame, flashing, flashy, flaunting, fop, formal, free, fribble, frilly, frothy, game, gamecock, gay, gay deceiver, gay dog, gentlemanly, gigolo, glittering, glorious, good soldier, gracious, grand, greathearted, hardy, hero, heroic, heroine, herolike, high-spirited, imposing, inamorato, intrepid, ironhearted, jack-a-dandy, jackanapes, jaunty, jazzy, knight, knightlike, knightly, lady-killer, lecher, libertine, licentious, lion, lionhearted, lothario, lounge lizard, love-maker, lover, lover-boy, macaroni, magnificent, majestic, man, man of courage, man-about-town, manful, manly, mannerly, masher, mettlesome, necker, noble, old man, old-fashioned, old-world, paladin, paramour, petter, philanderer, plucky, polite, profligate, puppy, rake, rakehell, rakehellish, rakehelly, rakish, rip, roue, rounder, satyr, seducer, sheik, showy, skirt chaser, snazzy, soldierlike, soldierly, spark, sparker, splashy, splendid, splurgy, sport, sporty, squire, stalwart, stately, stout, stouthearted, suave, sugar daddy, suitor, swain, sweetheart, swell, swinger, the brave, thoughtful, tiger, unafraid, unbridled, undaunted, urbane, valiant, valiant knight, valorous, walking phallus, wanton, well-bred, wild, wolf, woman chaser, womanizer, wooer, young man