Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Knight” come from?

Knight comes from Middle English knyghte, from Old English cniht, from Proto-West Germanic kneht, originally denoting a young man or boy before acquiring its medieval sense of armed warrior.

Ancestry of “Knight”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishknightknight
2Old Englishcnihtboy; servant, attendant; male of high military...
3Proto-West Germanicknehtyouth, boy; servant, knight

Words derived from “Knight”

  • Knightian
Every word from Proto-West Germanic kneht →