# chivalry

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈʃɪvəlɹi/ · frequency rank #26,038

## Definitions
1. Cavalry; horsemen armed for battle.
2. The fact or condition of being a knight; knightly skill, prowess.
3. The 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.
4. Courtesy, respect and honourable conduct, as between opponents in wartime.
5. Courteous behaviour, especially that of men towards women.
6. A 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.

## Easily confused with
- **cavalry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cavalry-vs-chivalry)

## Common misspellings (13)
`cchivalry`, `chhivalry`, `chiavlry`, `chivallry`, `chivalrry`, `chivalryy`, `chivalyr`, `chivarly`, `chivlary`, `chivvalry`, `chvialry`, `cihvalry`, `hcivalry`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/chivalry