Dictionary

cavalier en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˌkævəˈlɪɚ/
• /ˈkæ.vəˌlir/ (US)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Celtic *kaballosder.? Latin caballus Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -ārius Late Latin caballāriusder. Old Occitan cavalierbor. Old Italian cavalierebor. Middle French cavalierbor. English cavalier First appears c. 1562 in a translation by Peter Whitehorne. Borrowed from Middle French cavalier (“horseman”), itself borrowed from Old Italian cavaliere (“mounted soldier, knight”), borrowed from Old Occitan cavalier, from Late Latin caballārius (“horseman”), from Latin caballus (“horse”), probably from Gaulish caballos 'nag', variant of cabillos (compare Welsh ceffyl, Breton kefel, Irish capall), akin to German (Swabish) Kōb 'nag' and Old Church Slavonic кобꙑла (kobyla) 'mare'. Previous English forms include cavalero and cavaliero. Doublet of caballero and chevalier.

Meanings

1. Lacking the proper care or concern for something important, reckless, rash, high-handed.
   • Such a cavalier attitude might seem to suggest that doctors consider the uterus as dispensable an organ as, say, an appendix—and some feminists have accused the medical profession of just such callousness […] 2012, Barbara Seaman, Laura Eldridge, Voices of the Women's Health Movement (volume 1):
   • For another example, see Palumbo, Rudd, and Whelan (2006), who found that several empirical consumption papers from the 1980s and 1990s took a cavalier approach to deflation and measurement that unfortunately affected their results. 2024, Jeremy B. Rudd, A Practical Guide to Macroeconomics, page 60:
   • But, on the following day, no sign of Poirot. I was getting angry. He was really treating us in the most cavalier fashion. 1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 144:
2. High-spirited.
3. Supercilious.
4. (obsolete) Free and easy; unconcerned with formalities
   • Leporello (a surname that proved the antechamber not to be wholly illiterate), far from resembling Don Juan’s trembling valet, was a handsome young man, with an animated face, nimble in gait, and of cavalier manners; wearing elegantly enough the clothes which had, doubtless, appertained to his master; and evidently quite the pet of the ladies present, and paying assiduous court to Mademoiselle Astarté, the queen of the party. 1846, Marie Joseph Eugène Sue, Martin the foundling; or, The memoirs of a valet de chambre, Harper, page 323:
5. (historical) Of or pertaining to the party of King Charles I of England (1600–1649).

Forms

Antonyms

respectful · stiff · attentive · earnest

Deriveds

beaglier · Cavoodle · cavalierness · cavalierly · cavalierism · uncavalier · cavaliership · Cavachon · cavalierish · klavalier

Synonyms

disdainful · nonchalant · brusque · haughty · dismissive · offhand · curt

Translations (36)

hu hányaveti (not caring enough about something important) · cs přezíravý (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · bg надменен (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · bg безгрижен (not caring enough about something important) · hu fennhéjázó (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · nl onverschillig (not caring enough about something important) · fi huoleton (not caring enough about something important) · nl afstandelijk (not caring enough about something important) · ka მოურიდებელი (not caring enough about something important) · ru ре́звый (high-spirited) · ru высокоме́рный (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · ka უცერემონიო (not caring enough about something important) · nl misprijzend (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · nl laatdunkend (high-spirited) · fr cavalière (not caring enough about something important) · cs nonšalantní (not caring enough about something important) · fr cavalier (not caring enough about something important) · hu hetyke (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · ka ქედმაღლური (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · cs pyšný (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · fr nonchalant (not caring enough about something important) · fr nonchalante (not caring enough about something important) · hu fölényes (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · nl hooghartig (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · de nachlässig (not caring enough about something important) · fr cavalier (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · ru надме́нный (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · hu nyegle (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · ka ამპარტავნული (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · de übermütig (high-spirited) · de hochmütig (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · ar غَيْر مُكْتَرِث (not caring enough about something important) · it noncurante (not caring enough about something important) · ka მედიდური (supercilious, haughty, disdainful) · mk бе́згрижен (not caring enough about something important) · mk на́дмен (supercilious, haughty, disdainful)

cavalier en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˌkævəˈlɪɚ/
• /ˈkæ.vəˌlir/ (US)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Celtic *kaballosder.? Latin caballus Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -ārius Late Latin caballāriusder. Old Occitan cavalierbor. Old Italian cavalierebor. Middle French cavalierbor. English cavalier First appears c. 1562 in a translation by Peter Whitehorne. Borrowed from Middle French cavalier (“horseman”), itself borrowed from Old Italian cavaliere (“mounted soldier, knight”), borrowed from Old Occitan cavalier, from Late Latin caballārius (“horseman”), from Latin caballus (“horse”), probably from Gaulish caballos 'nag', variant of cabillos (compare Welsh ceffyl, Breton kefel, Irish capall), akin to German (Swabish) Kōb 'nag' and Old Church Slavonic кобꙑла (kobyla) 'mare'. Previous English forms include cavalero and cavaliero. Doublet of caballero and chevalier.

Meanings

1. (historical) A military man serving on horse, (chiefly) early modern cavalry officers who had abandoned the heavy armor of medieval knights.
2. (historical) A gallant: a sprightly young dashing military man.
3. (historical) A gentleman of the class of such officers.
4. (alt-of, historical) Alternative letter-case form of Cavalier, a royalist partisan of Charles I of England during the English Civil War, especially from the upper classes.
   alt of Cavalier
5. (slang) Someone with an uncircumcised penis.
   • The roundheads in the school showers easily equalled the cavaliers. 1992, John Hoyland, Fathers and Sons, page 94:
   • I knew about the English Civil War, Cavaliers (wrong but romantic) versus Roundheads (right but repulsive), but I didn't think that was what he was talking about. I shook my head. “It means our willies aren't circumcised,” he explained. "Are you a cavalier or a roundhead?” 2013, Ellen Datlow, Hauntings, →ISBN, page 155:
   • Since penile preference is so tied up with personal aesthetics and body image, it seems both logical and fair to leave the choice of cavalier or roundhead to the owner of the organ, thus avoiding the sort of life-long pain expressed in a comment like this:[…] 2008, “Objections of a sentimental character: The subjective dimension of foreskin loss”, in Matatu, number 37, →OCLC, page 158:
6. A defensive work rising from a bastion, etc., and overlooking the surrounding area.

Forms

Antonyms

roundhead

Coordinates

cavalryman

Hypernyms

horseman

Relateds

caballero

Synonyms

chevalier

Translations (38)

ru ры́царь (sprightly military man) · fr cavalier (well mannered man; a gentleman) · gv markiagh (military man serving on horse) · fr chevalier (sprightly military man) · fi kavaljeeri (sprightly military man) · ru кавале́р (well mannered man; a gentleman) · ru кавалери́ст (military man serving on horse) · fr cavalier (sprightly military man) · gd marcach (military man serving on horse) · mk кавалери́ст (military man serving on horse) · fi kavaljeeri (type of defensive work) · da kavaler (well mannered man; a gentleman) · bg рицар (military man serving on horse) · mk кавале́р (well mannered man; a gentleman) · ja 騎士 (sprightly military man) · es caballero (well mannered man; a gentleman) · ga gaige (well mannered man; a gentleman) · fr chevalier (military man serving on horse) · de Kavalier (well mannered man; a gentleman) · mk ви́тез (sprightly military man) · bg кавалер (well mannered man; a gentleman) · pt cavalheiro (well mannered man; a gentleman) · pl kawalerzysta (military man serving on horse) · fi ratsumies (military man serving on horse) · tl kabalyero (military man serving on horse) · de Kavallerist (military man serving on horse) · es caballero (military man serving on horse) · ru ры́царь (well mannered man; a gentleman) · cmn 騎士 /骑士 (sprightly military man) · ga cúirteoir (well mannered man; a gentleman) · fi herrasmies (well mannered man; a gentleman) · ru кавале́р (sprightly military man) · ga marcach (military man serving on horse) · it cavaliere (military man serving on horse) · de Kavalier (sprightly military man) · fr cavalier (military man serving on horse) · sh kavàljēr (military man serving on horse) · bg ри́цар (sprightly military man)

cavalier en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˌkævəˈlɪɚ/
• /ˈkæ.vəˌlir/ (US)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Celtic *kaballosder.? Latin caballus Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -ārius Late Latin caballāriusder. Old Occitan cavalierbor. Old Italian cavalierebor. Middle French cavalierbor. English cavalier First appears c. 1562 in a translation by Peter Whitehorne. Borrowed from Middle French cavalier (“horseman”), itself borrowed from Old Italian cavaliere (“mounted soldier, knight”), borrowed from Old Occitan cavalier, from Late Latin caballārius (“horseman”), from Latin caballus (“horse”), probably from Gaulish caballos 'nag', variant of cabillos (compare Welsh ceffyl, Breton kefel, Irish capall), akin to German (Swabish) Kōb 'nag' and Old Church Slavonic кобꙑла (kobyla) 'mare'. Previous English forms include cavalero and cavaliero. Doublet of caballero and chevalier.

Meanings

1. (dated, transitive) Of a man: to act in a gallant and dashing manner toward (women).
   • His social and kind nature is inferred from his cavaliering the ladies Percy and Mortimer, and introducing them, before their husbands depart for the war. 1863, Charles Cowden Clarke, Shakespeare-characters; Chiefly Those Subordinate, page 427:
   • "I thought," Graeme burred at him, transfixing him with shrewd eyes, "that you were cavaliering the Italian girl, Beatrice Cenci or Vittoria Colonna or whatever her name is?" 1916, Good Housekeeping, volume 64, page 113:

Forms