chivalry (English)
Where does "chivalry" come from?
The word chivalry traces its roots back to the Latin term caballus, meaning 'horse,' which eventually evolved into the Medieval Latin caballarius, or 'horseman.' This term passed into Old French as chevalerie, referring to the status and martial skill of mounted knights, before entering Middle English in the 13th century. Over time, the meaning shifted from a literal description of cavalry to the idealized ethical code of knightly conduct we recognize today.
Full etymology tree
- chivalry (English), 'Cavalry; horsemen armed for battle.'
- inherited chivalerie (Middle English), 'A retinue of knights or mounted soldiers.'
- learned borrowing chevalerie (Old French), 'chivalry (state of being a knight in the Middle Ages)'
- derived cheval (Old French), 'horse'
- inherited caballus (Latin), 'pack-horse, jade, hack'
- borrowed *kaballos (Gaulish)
- inherited *kaballos (Proto-Celtic)
- borrowed *kabah (Proto-Iranian)
- inherited *kebʰ- (Proto-Indo-European)
- borrowed *kaballos (Gaulish)
- inherited caballus (Latin), 'pack-horse, jade, hack'
- affix -erie (Old French), 'used to form feminine nouns'
- derived cheval (Old French), 'horse'
- learned borrowing chevalerie (Old French), 'chivalry (state of being a knight in the Middle Ages)'
- inherited chivalerie (Middle English), 'A retinue of knights or mounted soldiers.'
Direct ancestors
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris