Gallantry
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 courage. countable, uncountable
"1926, P. G. Wodehouse, 'Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend', Penguin, Harmondsworth: 1992, p 98. 'I have the greatest respect for the young lady to whom you refer. She behaved on a certain recent occasion - on two recent occasions - with notable gallantry and resource, and I won't have her bally-ragged.'"
- 2 polite attentiveness to women wordnet
- 3 chivalrous courtliness, especially towards women. countable, uncountable
"Of the three things that startle us in the feasts of nobles, there is not one here; no swords, no duels, no tables reeking blood. No faithless gallantries here bring dishonour on some intimate friend."
- 4 the qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger (especially in battle) wordnet
- 5 an instance of gallant behaviour or speech. countable, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
- 6 courtesy towards women wordnet
Example
More examples"Grandeur and gallantry never appeared with more lustre in France, than in the last years of Henry the Second's reign."
Etymology
From French galanterie, equivalent to gallant + -ry.
Related phrases
More for "gallantry"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.