First appears c. 1562 in a translation by Peter Whitehorne. Borrowed fromMiddle Frenchcavalier(“horseman”),[1] itself borrowed fromOld Italiancavaliere(“mounted soldier, knight”),[2] borrowed fromOld Occitancavalier, fromLate Latincaballārius(“horseman”), fromLatincaballus(“horse”), probably from Gaulishcaballos 'nag', variant ofcabillos (compare Welshceffyl, Bretonkefel, Irishcapall), akin to German (Swabish)Kōb 'nag' andOld Church Slavonicкобꙑла(kobyla) 'mare'. Previous English forms includecavalero andcavaliero.Doublet ofcaballero andchevalier.
cavalier (comparativemorecavalier,superlativemostcavalier)
- Lacking the proper care or concern for something important, reckless, rash, high-handed.
- Synonyms:dismissive,offhand,nonchalant
- Antonyms:respectful,earnest,attentive
2012, Barbara Seaman, Laura Eldridge,Voices of the Women's Health Movement (volume 1):Such acavalier attitude might seem to suggest that doctors consider the uterus as dispensable an organ as, say, an appendix—and some feminists have accused the medical profession of just such callousness[…]
2024, Jeremy B. Rudd,A Practical Guide to Macroeconomics, page60:For another example, see Palumbo, Rudd, and Whelan (2006), who found that several empirical consumption papers from the 1980s and 1990s took acavalier approach to deflation and measurement that unfortunately affected their results.
- High-spirited.
- Supercilious.
- Synonyms:haughty,disdainful,curt,brusque
- (obsolete)Free andeasy;unconcerned withformalities
- Antonym:stiff
1846, Marie Joseph Eugène Sue,Martin the foundling; or, The memoirs of a valet de chambre, Harper, page323:Leporello (a surname that proved the antechamber not to be wholly illiterate), far from resembling Don Juan’s trembling valet, was a handsome young man, with an animated face, nimble in gait, and ofcavalier manners; wearing elegantly enough the clothes which had, doubtless, appertained to his master; and evidently quite the pet of the ladies present, and paying assiduous court to Mademoiselle Astarté, the queen of the party.
- (historical) Of or pertaining to the party ofKing Charles I of England (1600–1649).
not caring enough about something important
supercilious, haughty, disdainful
cavalier (pluralcavaliers)
- (historical) Amilitary man serving on horse,(chiefly)early moderncavalryofficers who had abandoned the heavy armor ofmedievalknights.
- Synonym:chevalier
- Hypernym:horseman
- Coordinate term:cavalryman
- (historical) Agallant: asprightly youngdashingmilitary man.
- Agentleman of theclass of suchofficers,particularly:
- (historical) Acourtesan ornoble underCharles I ofEngland,particularly aroyalistpartisan during theEnglish Civil War which ended hisreign.
- Antonym:Roundhead
- (slang) Someone with anuncircumcisedpenis.
- Antonym:roundhead
1992, John Hoyland,Fathers and Sons, page94:The roundheads in the school showers easily equalled thecavaliers.
2008, “Objections of a sentimental character: The subjective dimension of foreskin loss”, inMatatu, number37,→OCLC,page158:Since penile preference is so tied up with personal aesthetics and body image, it seems both logical and fair to leave the choice ofcavalier or roundhead to the owner of the organ, thus avoiding the sort of life-long pain expressed in a comment like this:[…]
2013, Ellen Datlow,Hauntings,→ISBN, page155:I knew about the English Civil War, Cavaliers (wrong but romantic) versus Roundheads (right but repulsive), but I didn't think that was what he was talking about. I shook my head. “It means our willies aren't circumcised,” he explained. "Are you acavalier or a roundhead?”
- (architecture) Adefensivework rising from abastion, etc., andoverlooking the surrounding area.
military man serving on horse
well mannered man; a gentleman
slang: someone with uncircumcised penis
cavalier (third-person singular simple presentcavaliers,present participlecavaliering,simple past and past participlecavaliered)
- (transitive, dated) Of a man: to act in agallant anddashing manner toward (women).
1863, Charles Cowden Clarke,Shakespeare-characters; Chiefly Those Subordinate, page427:His social and kind nature is inferred from hiscavaliering the ladies Percy and Mortimer, and introducing them, before their husbands depart for the war.
1916,Good Housekeeping, volume64, page113:"I thought," Graeme burred at him, transfixing him with shrewd eyes, "that you werecavaliering the Italian girl, Beatrice Cenci or Vittoria Colonna or whatever her name is?"
<EnglishCavalier
cavalier
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel,Cavalier(breed of spaniel)
- Synonym:cavalierkingcharlesinspanieli
Borrowed fromItaliancavaliere, itself borrowed fromOld Occitancavalier, fromLate Latincaballārius.Doublet ofchevalier, which was inherited.
cavalier m (pluralcavaliers,femininecavalière)
- horseman
- knight
- cavalier
- horserider
- (chess)knight
- (card games)knight(in tarot)
- U-nail,fencestaple,constructionstaple
- cableclip
- (male)partner
- (male)date, (male) companion for social activities
cavalier (femininecavalière,masculine pluralcavaliers,feminine pluralcavalières)
- equestrian
- cavalier,nonchalant(lacking the proper care or concern for something important, reckless, rash, high-handed)
- une attitudecavalière ―(please add an English translation of this usage example)
