knife-edge 
thing required to oscillate with the least pos- 
sible friction rests and turns. See balance. 
knife-edged (nif'ejd), a. Edged like a knife; 
tapering to a thin edge : specifically applied in 
entomology to a compressed abdomen when it 
presents a sharp edge on the ventral surface, 
as in certain Cympidw. 
knife-file (nif'fil), n. 
knife-grass (nif ' gras), n. A stout sedge of the 
West Indies and South America, Selena lati- 
folin: so called from its cutting leaves. 
knife-grinder (nif 'griu"der), M. 1. One whose 
business it is to grind or sharpen knives ; espe- 
cially, one who goes about seeking for employ- 
ment in sharpening cutting-instruments : in the 
United States more commonly called a scissors- 
grinder. 
Needy knife-grinder! whither are you going? 
Canning, Friend of Humanity and Knife-Grinder. 
2. A grindstone, emery-wheel, or other ma- 
chine for grinding knives. 3. The night-jar: 
same as grinder, 3 Planer knife-grinder, an em- 
ery-wheel or stone traversing on its mandrel in front of a 
knife dogged to the table, or conversely. E. H. Knight. 
knife-guard (nif'gard), . A small metal arm 
pivoted in the shank of a carving-fork, to pre- 
vent injury to the hand if the knife slips. 
knife-handle (nif'han"dl), n. I. The handle 
of a knife. 2. A mollusk, the razor-shell. So- 
le n ensis. [Massachusetts.] 
knife-hookt (nif'huk), . A sickle. 
In his one hand, as fit for harvests toyle. 
He held a knife-hook. Spenser, F. Q., VII. vii. 38. 
knife-lanyard (nif'lan"yard), . See lanyard, 
i a). 
knife-money (nif'mun"i), n. A bronze cur- 
Knife-money, two thirds original size. 
rency in the form of knives, anciently used in 
China. 
knife-rest (nif 'rest), . 1. A small metal bar 
between two supports, or some similar contri- 
vance, on which the blade of a carving-knife 
and the steel part of a carving-fork may be 
rested after use at the table, so that they may 
not soil the table-cloth. 2. Abenchf or holding 
cutlery to a grindstone, or for supporting the 
knives of a harvester while being sharpened. 
knife-sharpener (nif'sharp // ner), n. One who 
or that which sharpens a knife; specifically, 
an instrument for sharpening table-knives by 
drawing the blade between two steel edges. 
knife-tool (nif'to'l), n. 1. A knife-shaped 
graver. 2. In seal-engraving, a very small, thin 
disk used to cut fine lines in ribbon- or mono- 
gram-work. 
knife-tray (nif 'tra), . A receptacle for table- 
knives. Compare knife-basket, knife-box. 
knight (nit), n. [< ME. knight, knyght, knigt, 
knygt, kniht, cniht, < AS. cniht, cnyht, rarely 
cneoht, a boy, youth, attendant, servant, = 
OFries. kniucht, knecht = D. knccht, a servant, 
= MLG. knecht, LG. knecht, knekt = OHG. cneht, 
kneht, chneht, gneht, MHG. kneht, knecht, a boy, 
youth, attendant, knight, G. knecht, a servant, 
= Dan. knegt, man-servant, knave (at cards), = 
Sw. knekt, a soldier, a knave (at cards) (Scand. 
forms prob. < D. or G.); perhaps orig. *cyniht, 
with orig. adj. suffix -iht, < cyn, kin, race, tribe ; 
or, like knave of same orig. meaning, from the 
same Teut. root kan, appearing in ken 2 and kin 1 , 
etc.] If. A boy; a youth; a young man. 
Hit bifel that Lazar the knigt in grete siknesse lay. 
Leben Jem (ed. Horstmann), 1. 678. 
2f. An attendant or servant ; especially, a mili- 
tary attendant ; a man-at-arms ; a soldier. 
Thanne knightisof the justise token Jhesus in the moot 
halle and gaderiden to him all the company of Jcnyghtes. 
Wydif, Mat. xxvu. 27. 
She as her attendant hath 
A lovely boy, stolen from an Indian king, . . . 
And jealous Oberon would have the child 
Knight of his train, to trace the forests wild. 
Shale., M. N. D., ii. 1, 25. 
Specifically 3. In Europe during the middle 
ages, a person of noble birth trained to arms 
and chivalry, first as page and afterward as 
squire to the sovereign, or to some earl, baron, 
or other superior lord, to whom he attached 
himself, and whom he was bound to follow to 
war on horseback. Knights were of two grades : 
knights bachelors (or simple kniyhts), received into the 
3302 
order with much ceremony and solemnity, in which the 
church had a large share; and knights bannerets, who 
were generally created on the field by their superior on 
account of some valorous action, and were entitled to dis- 
play a squate banner, and to hold higher commands, 
while the former could use only the pennon. In Eng- 
land, under the feudal system, a prerequisite was the 
ownership of a certain amount of laud (called a knight's 
fee), held of the king or of an earl or baron on a tenure 
which bound the holder to definite military service and 
other obligations. Although this form of tenure con- 
tinued until the time of Charles II., the military service 
was early commuted for a money payment, and the holder 
of a knight's fee was no longer necessarily a knight. Dur- 
ing the age of chivalry following the crusades, knights were 
bound by the highest obligations to chivalrous conduct, 
and were supposed to espouse the cause of the unfortu- 
nate, especially of women. See order of knighthood, under 
knighthood, 
A Knight ther was, and that a worthy man, 
That from the tyme that he first bigau 
To ryden out, he lovede chyvalrye. 
Chaucer, Gen. ProL to C. T., 1. 43. 
These two childeren kepte the Citee right wele, but 
knyghtes were thei noon, for thei were to yonge of age. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 288. 
For that dangerous fight 
The great Armenian King made noble Bevis Knight. 
Drayton, Polyolbion, ii. 328. 
"God make thee good as thou art beautiful," 
Said Arthur, when he dubb'd him knight. 
Tennyson, Holy Grail. 
(Hence, with reference to the particular designations of 
medieval knights, humorous expressions like knight of the 
cleaver (that is, a butcher), knight of the pestle (an apothe- 
cary), knight of the road (a highwayman), knight of the 
shears (a tailor), etc. ] 
4. In Great Britain in modern times, a man 
upon whom a certain honorary dignity has 
been conferred by a sovereign as a reward of 
personal merit of some kind, without reference 
to birth or possessions, and in no way involv- 
ing military service, which disappeared as a 
feature of knighthood with the other institu- 
tions of chivalry. In the British empire knighthood 
confers no privilege other than the social one of prece- 
dence next after baronets. Knights have the right to the 
title Sir prefixed to the Christian name, as Sir William 
Wallace ; but neither the dignity nor the title is trans- 
missible to heirs, as in the case of baronets (who as such 
are not knights, although they also have the title Sir). 
The wife of a knight has the legal designation of Dame, 
for which Lady is customarily substituted. Knights may 
still, as in medieval times, hold their rank either simply 
as individuals or as members of an order. (See order of 
knighthood, under knighthood.) Those of the latter class 
are now created only by royal letters patent ; those of the 
former (knights bachelors) may be so created, but are of- 
ten personally dubbed by the sovereign with the accolade. 
This ceremony of the accolade was formerly essential to 
the creation of all knights, whether by sovereign or feu- 
dal superior, and was commonly attended by elaborate ob- 
servances. 
And Helmsley, once proud Buckingham's delight, 
Slides to a scrivener or a city knight. 
Pope, Imit. of Horace, II. ii. 178. 
5. A champion; a warrior; especially, a cham- 
pion devoted to the service of another; a de- 
fender. 
Pardon, Goddess of the night, 
Those that slew thy virgin knight. 
Shak., Much Ado, v. 3 (song). 
In all your quarrels will I be your knight. 
This will I do, dear damsel, for your sake. 
Tennyson, Lancelot and Elaine. 
6. One of the pieces in the game of chess, hav- 
ing usually the figure of a horse's head, its move 
is a peculiar one from the square it occupies to the op- 
posite corner of any rectangle of two squares by three ; 
and in so moving its course is not obstructed by any inter- 
vening or surrounding pieces. The number of squares it 
commands varies from eight when at least two squares 
separate it from any side of the board to two when it 
stands in a corner. 
Strange game of chess ! A King 
That with her own pawns plays against a Queen. . . . 
Ay; but this fine blue-blooded Courtenay seems 
Too princely for a pawn. Call him a Knight, 
That with an ass's, not a horse's head, 
Skips every way. Tennyson, Queen Mary, i. 3. 
7t. In card-playing, the knave or jack. 
Abbreviated lent., or in combination K. (as 
K. G., Knight of the Garter; K. C. B., Knight 
Commander of the Bath). 
Knight bachelor, a knight of the lowest order ; now, in 
Great Britain, one who has been raised to the dignity of 
knighthood without being made a member of any titular 
order, such as that of the Bath or the Thistle. Knight 
banneret. See banneret?, i. Knight errant, an errant 
or wandering knight ; a knight who traveled in search of 
adventures, for the purpose of exhibiting military skill, 
prowess, and generosity. 
I have discover'd, not a stone's cast off, 
An ancient castle, held by the old knight 
Of the most holy order of the Bell, 
Who gives to all kniyhte-errent entertain. 
Beau, and Fl., Knight of Burning Pestle, ii. 6. 
Like a bold knight-errant did proclaim 
Combat to all, and bore away the dame. 
Sir J. Denhain, Cooper's Hill. 
To follow Fame Knights-Errant make Profession. 
Congreve, Epil. to Southern's Oroonoko. 
Knight marshal, formerly, an officer in the household of 
the British sovereign, having cognizance of transgressions 
knight-head 
within the royal household and verge, and of contracts 
made there when a member of the household was one of 
the parties. Also called marshal of the king's (or <fuxeris) 
ha 
Hence (b) ----------- --------- , 
ing by giving false evidence ; a false bail ; a sharper in 
general. 
A knight of the post, quoth he, for so I ain tearmed; a 
fellow that will sweare you anything for twelve-pence. 
Nashe, Pierce Penilesse. 
On this account, all those whose fortune 's crost, 
And want estates, may turn knights of the post. 
Fletcher, Poems, p. 258. (Halliicell.) 
In Anne's time "Knights of the Post are to be had in the 
Temple Walks from Morning till Night, for two Pots of 
Belch, and a Sixpenny slice of Boil'd beef." 
Ashlon, Social Life in Reign of Queen Anne, II. 142. 
Knight of the road, a footpad; a highwayman. 
Knight of the shears, a tailor; probably a pun on knight 
of the shire. Knight Of the shire, the representative in 
Parliament of a county at large, as distinguished from the 
representatives of such cities and towns as are counties 
of themselves. [Eng.] Knight of the square flag. 
See banneret'*, 1. Knight's fee, the amounfof land, 
varying from about two to about six hides, or twenty li- 
brates, with which a knight was invested on his creation, 
and which he held on condition of rendering homage, 
fealty, and forty days of military service each year; the 
holding sufficient to support a knight, Knights of 
Christian Charity, an order founded by Henry IV. of 
France (1589-1610), the members of which were devoted 
to the care of invalid soldiers. Knights of Constan- 
tine. See order. Knights of Labor, the name assumed 
by the members, of an association more fully styled the 
"Noble Order of the Knights of Labor," founded in the 
United States in 1869 for the protection of the interests 
of working people and the promotion of industrial and 
social education among the masses. Itis a secret society, 
has a ritual, has numerous branches called " local assem- 
blies," and is intended to include all kinds of skilled and 
unskilled labor. The chief executive officer is styled 
"General Master Workman." Knights Of Our Lady Of 
Mount Carmel. See order. Knights of Rhodes. See 
Hospitaler. Knights of St. Bridget. See order. 
Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. See Hospitaler. 
Knights of the Band, an order founded by Alfonso XI., 
king of Castile,in the fourteenth century,for service against 
the Moors. Knights of the Bath. See bathi. Knights 
of the chamber, formerly, such knights bachelors as were 
made in time of peace, in the king's chamber, and not in 
the field, as in time of war. Knights of the Chase. 
Same as Knights of the Order of St. Hubert of Wiirtem- 
burg (which see, under order). Knights of the Cordon 
Jaime. See order. Knights of the Golden Circle, in 
U. S. hist., a name assumed by an organization formed 
in the Northern States by sympathizers with the South 
during the civil war. Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, 
a military order established by Godfrey de Bouillon in 
1099 to guard the sepulcher of Christ. Knights of the 
Order of Christ. See order. Knights of the Order of 
St. Crispin, a trades-union association of shoemakers. 
Knights of the Round Table. See table.- Knights 
Templars, (a) See Templari. (b) A branch of the fra- 
ternity of Freemasons in the United States, with an or- 
ganization based upon that of the medieval order of the 
same name. Knight's tour, a series of moves of the 
chess knight carrying it to every square on the board 
once and once only. Order of the Knights of Malta, 
a name sometimes given to the Order of the Hospitalers 
of St. John of Jerusalem. See Hospitaler. Teutonic 
Knights. See Teutonic. Windsor Knight, one of a 
body of military pensioners having their residence within 
the precincts of Windsor Castle. They are now called the 
Military Knights of Windsor, and sometimes Poor Knights 
of Windsor. 
knight (nit), v. t. [< ME. knigten (= MHG. 
knehten); from the noun: see knight, n.] To 
dub or create a knight; confer the honor of 
knighthood upon. The ceremony is regularly per- 
formed by touching the person on whom the dignity is 
conferred with a sword as he kneels. See accolade, 1. 
A soldier, by the honour-giving hand 
Of Coeur-de-Lion knighted in the field. 
Shak., K. John, 1. 1, 64. 
This drone, yet never brave attempt that dar'd, 
Yet dares be knighted, and from thence dares grow 
To any title empire can bestow. 
Drayton, To Mr. Win. Brown, Of the Evil Time. 
knightage (ni'taj), n. [< knight + -age.'} The 
body of knights ; the aggregate of those per- 
sons who have been created knights: as, the 
knightage of the United Kingdom. 
knight-errant (nit'er'ant), n. [< ME. knight 
erraunt (OP. chevalier errant): see knight and 
errant^."] See knight errant, under knight. 
knight-errantry (nit'er'ant-ri), n. [< knight- 
errant + -ry."\ The role of character of a knight 
errant; the knightly practice of wandering in 
quest of adventures. 
knight-erratic (nit'e-rat'ik), a. Relating to 
knight-errantry. Quarterly Rev. [Rare.] 
knightess (ni'tes), m. [< knight + -ess.'] A fe- 
male knight ; a woman of knightly character, 
or who is the wife of a knight. [Rare.] 
Too it againe, my knightesses, downe with them all. 
Udatt, Roister Doister, iv. 8. 
The "honourable knighted," with her golden collar of 
S. S., and chaplet or cap of dignity, may . . . accompany 
the procession. Disraeli, Sybil, it 2. 
knight-head (nit'hed), n. Naut., a bollard- 
timber ; one of two pieces of timber rising just 
within the stem, one on each side of the bow- 
