
The word knight originated from around 900 AD and meant boy or manservant; by the 1100s was associated with the military class as a paid mercenary of sorts; and around the 1300s became what we think of the chivalrous knight, King Arthur and the Roundtable.
Today knighthood is bestowed as a meritorious honor. I knew that Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Paul McCartney, Patrick Stewart, Kenneth Branagh and Elton John are "Sirs," but had no idea that Robert Redford, Bill Gates, Clint Eastwood, Bob Hope, Bob Geldof and Ronald Reagan had been so bestowed! Sir Ronald Reagan!??
DEFINITION of this 3-syllable adjective/noun:
- loyal; faithful.
- a faithful follower; adherent: allegiants of religious cults.