Where does “knightess” come from?

knightess (English) comes from English Knight, from Middle English knight, from Old English cniht, from Proto-West Germanic kneht — youth, boy; servant, knight.

knightess (English): A female knight; The wife of a knight

Definitions

  1. A female knight; The wife of a knight

Ancestry of “knightess”, step by step

knightess traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Knight

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishKnightfor someone who was a mounted soldier
2Middle Englishknightknight
3Old Englishcnihtboy; servant, attendant; male of high military...
4Proto-West Germanicknehtyouth, boy; servant, knight

via English ess

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishessThe name of the Latin-script letter S; Something...
2Germanessfirst-person singular present of essen; singular...
3Proto-Germanicatiska-grainfield
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂edos-sort of cereal, grain
Every word from Proto-West Germanic kneht →Every word from Old English cniht →Every word from Middle English knight →
knightess — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer