knighthood

Meaning

Noun

• An honour whereby one is made into a knight, and one can thereafter be called "Sir"
• The quality of being a knight.
• The knights collectively, the body of knights.

Origin

• From Middle English knyghthode, knyȝthod, from Old English cnihthād, from Proto-West Germanic *knehtahaidu, equivalent to knight + -hood. Cognate with Dutch knechtheid, dialectal German Knechtheit.