chivalry
/ˈʃɪvəlɹi/
"chivalry" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“chivalry” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #26,038 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #26,038
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Cavalry; horsemen armed for battle.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | chivalry |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈʃɪvəlɹi/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #26,038 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “chivalry” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for chivalry is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈʃɪvəlɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,038 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for chivalry, with forms such as "cchivalry", "chhivalry", and "chiavlry". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "cavalry", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English chivalerie, a late 13th century loan from Old French chevalerie (“knighthood, chivalry, nobility, cavalry”) (11th century), the -erie (“-ery”) abstract of chevaler (“knight, horseman”), from Medieval Latin caballarius (“horseman, knight”… The correct English form is chivalry, spelled C-H-I-V-A-L-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Cavalry; horsemen armed for battle.
- 2The fact or condition of being a knight; knightly skill, prowess.
- 3The ethical code of the knight prevalent in Medieval Europe, having such primary virtues as mercy towards the poor and oppressed, humility, honour, sacrifice, fear of God, faithfulness, courage and courtesy to ladies.
- 4Courtesy, respect and honourable conduct, as between opponents in wartime.
- 5Courteous behaviour, especially that of men towards women.
- 6A tenure of lands by knightly service.
Etymology
From Middle English chivalerie, a late 13th century loan from Old French chevalerie (“knighthood, chivalry, nobility, cavalry”) (11th century), the -erie (“-ery”) abstract of chevaler (“knight, horseman”), from Medieval Latin caballarius (“horseman, knight”), from caballus (“horse”). Medieval Latin caballaria (“knighthood, status or fief of a knight”) dates to the 12th century. Doublet of cavalry.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cchivalry,chhivalry,chiavlry,chivallry,chivalrry,chivalryy,chivalyr,chivarly,chivlary,chivvalry,chvialry,cihvalry,hcivalry
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chivalry - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "chivalry"?
What does "chivalry" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "chivalry"?
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Using “chivalry”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-H-I-V-A-L-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈʃɪvəlɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “cavalry” - see the side-by-side comparison. chivalry vs cavalry
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.