Meanings
plural knighthoods
- countableuncountableAn honour whereby one is made into a knight, and whereafter one is entitled to be called Sir.
the knighthood of Sir [So-and-So]
4 more examples
He's got an OBE and MBE, and his recent work should entitle him to a knighthood.
They rushed to congratulate Sir John Smith on his knighthood.
I / Perceive 'tis an advantage for a man to vvear ſpurres, / The rovvell of Knight-hood does gingle in the eare of their / Vnderſtanding.
1632, Iames Shirley [i.e., James Shirley], Changes: Or, Love in a Maze. A Comedie, […], London: […] G. P. for William Cooke, […], →OCLC, Act I, page 3He received his knighthood at the opening of Immingham Dock in 1912.
1953 August, “Sir Sam Fay”, in Railway Magazine, page 506 - countableuncountableThe quality of being a knight.
- countableuncountableThe knights collectively, the body of knights.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*knehtahaidu
- Old Englishcnihthād
- Middle Englishknyghthode
- Englishknighthood
From Middle English knyghthode, knyȝthod, from Old English cnihthād, from Proto-West Germanic *knehtahaidu, equivalent to knight + -hood. Cognate with Dutch knechtheid, dialectal German Knechtheit.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic فروسية
- فروسيةquality of being a knight
Bulgarian посвещаване n/посвещение n в рицарство, рицарство
- посвещаване n/посвещение n в рицарство (posveštenie)honour whereby one is made into a knight
- рицарство (ricarstvo)quality of being a knight
- рицарство (ricarstvo)body of knights
Chinese Mandarin 冊封騎士 /册封骑士, 騎士封號 /骑士封号
- 冊封騎士 /册封骑士 (cèfēng qíshì)honour whereby one is made into a knight
- 騎士封號 /骑士封号 (qíshì fēnghào)honour whereby one is made into a knight
- 騎士品格 /骑士品格 (qíshì pǐngé)quality of being a knight
- 騎士團 /骑士团 (qíshìtuán)body of knights
Dutch verheffing in de adelstand, ridderschap
- verheffing in de adelstandhonour whereby one is made into a knight
- ridderschapquality of being a knight
- ridderschapbody of knights
Finnish ritarius, ritarius
- ritariushonour whereby one is made into a knight
- ritariusquality of being a knight
- ritaristobody of knights
- ritarikuntabody of knights
German Rittertum, Ritterlichkeit
- Rittertumhonour whereby one is made into a knight
- Ritterlichkeithonour whereby one is made into a knight
- Ritterschafthonour whereby one is made into a knight
- Rittertumquality of being a knight
- Ritterlichkeitquality of being a knight
- Ritterschaftquality of being a knight
- Rittertumbody of knights
- Ritterlichkeitbody of knights
- Ritterschaftbody of knights
Irish ridireacht, ridireacht
- ridireachthonour whereby one is made into a knight
- ridireachtquality of being a knight
Polish tytuł szlachecki, rycerskość
- tytuł szlacheckihonour whereby one is made into a knight
- rycerskośćquality of being a knight
- rycerstwobody of knights
Russian ры́царство, ры́царство
- ры́царство (rýcarstvo)honour whereby one is made into a knight
- ры́царство (rýcarstvo)quality of being a knight
- ры́царство (rýcarstvo)body of knights
Scottish Gaelic ridireachd, ridireachd
- ridireachdhonour whereby one is made into a knight
- ridireachdquality of being a knight
- ridireachdbody of knights
Spanish caballero, título de caballero
- caballerohonour whereby one is made into a knight
- título de caballerohonour whereby one is made into a knight
Swedish ridderskap
- ridderskapbody of knights
Turkish şövalyelik, şövalyelik
- şövalyelikhonour whereby one is made into a knight
- şövalyelikquality of being a knight
Cite this entry
knighthood. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knighthood
“knighthood.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knighthood. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “knighthood,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knighthood.
Source: knighthood on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.