Etymology

cavalry

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Today it means: The military arm of service that fights while riding horses. Full definition →

Middle French cavalerie ← Italian cavalleria ← Old Occitan cavalier
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The story

  1. Proto-Celtic*kaballosder.?
  2. Latincaballus
  3. Late Latincaballārius
  4. Old Occitancavalier
  5. Italiancavaliere
  6. Italiancavalleria
  7. Middle Frenchcavalerie
  8. English todaycavalry

From Middle French cavalerie, in turn from Italian cavalleria. Recorded in English from the 1540s. Doublet of chivalry.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.