Etymology

cavalier

cav·a·lier
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Today it means: Lacking the proper care or concern for something important, reckless, rash, high-handed. Full definition →

Middle French cavalier ← Old Italian cavaliere ← Old Occitan cavalier
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cavalier · adjective, noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Celtic*kaballosder.?
  2. Latincaballus
  3. Late Latincaballārius
  4. Old Occitancavalier
  5. Old Italiancavaliere
  6. Middle Frenchcavalier
  7. English todaycavalier

First appears c. 1562 in a translation by Peter Whitehorne. Borrowed from Middle French cavalier (“horseman”), itself borrowed from Old Italian cavaliere (“mounted soldier, knight”), borrowed from Old Occitan cavalier, from Late Latin caballārius (“horseman”), from Latin caballus (“horse”), probably from Gaulish caballos 'nag', variant of cabillos (compare Welsh ceffyl, Breton kefel, Irish capall), akin to German (Swabish) Kōb 'nag' and Old Church Slavonic кобꙑла (kobyla) 'mare'. Previous English forms include cavalero and cavaliero. Doublet of caballero and chevalier.

Cavalier · proper noun2

Misspelling of Cavileer, after Charles Cavileer, an early settler.

Cavalier · noun3

From cavalier, q.v.

Words from the same roots

Late Latincaballārius all →

chevaliercaballeria

Latincaballus all →

chevaliercapelcaplecaballeria

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.