gallant

== English == === Alternative forms === gallaunt (obsolete) === Etymology 1 === From Middle English galant, galaunt, from Old French galant (“courteous; dashing; brave”), present participle of galer (“to rejoice; make merry”), from gale (“pomp; show; festivity; mirth”); either from Frankish *wala (“good, well”), a variant form of *wela, from Proto-Germanic *wela (whence well), from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose, wish”); or alternatively from Frankish *gail (“merry; mirthful; proud; luxuriant”), from Proto-Germanic *gailaz (“merry; excited; luxurious”), related to Dutch geil (“horny; lascivious; salacious; lecherous”), German geil (“randy; horny; lecherous; wicked”), Old English gāl (“wanton; wicked; bad”). ==== Pronunciation ==== IPA(key): /ˈɡælənt/ Rhymes: -ælənt ==== Adjective ==== gallant (comparative more gallant, superlative most gallant) Brave, valiant, courteous, especially with regard to male attitudes towards women. Honorable. Grand, noble. (obsolete) Showy; splendid; magnificent; gay; well-dressed. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === 17th-century borrowing from French galant. See above. ==== Pronunciation ==== (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɡəˈlænt/, /ˈɡælənt/ (US) IPA(key): /ɡəˈlɑnt/, /ˈɡælənt/ Rhymes: -ænt ==== Adjective ==== gallant (comparative more gallant, superlative most gallant) Polite and attentive to ladies; courteous to women; chivalrous. ===== Translations ===== ==== Noun ==== gallant (plural gallants) (dated) A fashionable young man who is polite and attentive to women. Synonyms: blade, blood, masher; see also Thesaurus:dandy One who woos, a lover, a suitor, a seducer. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:libertine (nautical) A topgallant. ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== gallant (third-person singular simple present gallants, present participle gallanting, simple past and past participle gallanted) (obsolete, transitive) To attend or wait on (a lady). (obsolete, transitive) To handle with grace or in a modish manner. (transitive) To conduct, escort, convey. To behave in a gallant fashion; to act the gallant. === References === “gallant”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. == Welsh == === Alternative forms === gallan (colloquial) === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈɡaɬant/ === Verb === gallant (literary) third-person plural present/future of gallu === Mutation ===