資料來源 : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Knight \Knight\, n. [OE. knight, cniht, knight, soldier, As.
cniht, cneoht, a boy, youth, attendant, military follower;
akin to D. & G. knecht servant; perh. akin to E. kin.]
1. A young servant or follower; a military attendant. [Obs.]
2.
(a) In feudal times, a man-at-arms serving on horseback
and admitted to a certain military rank with special
ceremonies, including an oath to protect the
distressed, maintain the right, and live a stainless
life.
(b) One on whom knighthood, a dignity next below that of
baronet, is conferred by the sovereign, entitling him
to be addressed as Sir; as, Sir John. [Eng.] Hence:
(c) A champion; a partisan; a lover. ``Give this ring to
my true knight.'' Shak ``In all your quarrels will I
be your knight.'' --Tennyson.
Knights, by their oaths, should right poor
ladies' harms. --Shak.
Note: Formerly, when a knight's name was not known, it was
customary to address him as Sir Knight. The rank of a
knight is not hereditary.
3. A piece used in the game of chess, usually bearing a
horse's head.
4. A playing card bearing the figure of a knight; the knave
or jack. [Obs.]
{Carpet knight}. See under {Carpet}.
{Knight of industry}. See {Chevalier d'industrie}, under
{Chevalier}.
{Knight of Malta}, {Knight of Rhodes}, {Knight of St. John of
Jerusalem}. See {Hospitaler}.
{Knight of the post}, one who gained his living by giving
false evidence on trials, or false bail; hence, a sharper
in general. --Nares. ``A knight of the post, . . . quoth
he, for so I am termed; a fellow that will swear you
anything for twelve pence.'' --Nash.
{Knight of the shire}, in England, one of the representatives
of a county in Parliament, in distinction from the
representatives of cities and boroughs.
{Knights commanders}, {Knights grand cross}, different
classes of the Order of the Bath. See under {Bath}, and
{Companion}.
{Knights of labor}, a secret organization whose professed
purpose is to secure and maintain the rights of workingmen
as respects their relations to their employers. [U. S.]
{Knights of Pythias}, a secret order, founded in Washington,
d.C., in 1864, for social and charitable purposes.
{Knights of the Round Table}, knights belonging to an order
which, according to the legendary accounts, was instituted
by the mythical King Arthur. They derived their common
title from the table around which they sat on certain
solemn days. --Brande & C.
Post \Post\, n. [AS., fr. L. postis, akin to ponere, positum, to
place. See {Position}, and cf. 4th {Post}.]
1. A piece of timber, metal, or other solid substance, fixed,
or to be fixed, firmly in an upright position, especially
when intended as a stay or support to something else; a
pillar; as, a hitching post; a fence post; the posts of a
house.
They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the
two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the
houses. --Ex. xii. 7.
Then by main force pulled up, and on his shoulders
bore, The gates of Azza, post and massy bar.
--Milton.
Unto his order he was a noble post. --Chaucer.
Note: Post, in the sense of an upright timber or strut, is
used in composition, in such words as king-post,
queen-post, crown-post, gatepost, etc.
2. The doorpost of a victualer's shop or inn, on which were
chalked the scores of customers; hence, a score; a debt.
[Obs.]
When God sends coin I will discharge your post. --S.
Rowlands.
{From pillar to post}. See under {Pillar}.
{Knight of the post}. See under {Knight}.
{Post hanger} (Mach.), a bearing for a revolving shaft,
adapted to be fastened to a post.
{Post hole}, a hole in the ground to set the foot of a post
in.
{Post mill}, a form of windmill so constructed that the whole
fabric rests on a vertical axis firmly fastened to the
ground, and capable of being turned as the direction of
the wind varies.
{Post and stall} (Coal Mining), a mode of working in which
pillars of coal are left to support the roof of the mine.