866: cavalry, chivalry, cavalier (& more) Apr 22, 2017

While a single word does not necessarily demonstrate the way people think, looking to the evolution of words over time can be quite indicative of the way people perceive things. The association between knights and horses, for example, is not exceptionally distant, especially with various modern perceptions about literal knights in armor, however shining. This is not only in stories, nor even chess pieces, but with plenty of words today despite the fact that there are no longer mounted knights. There is, however, cavalry, which is still along the same lines of a soldier riding a horse, the word for which comes ultimately from the Latin, 'caballus' meaning 'horse'. Aside from that, the English derivatives of that word rather shift from the definition of the soldiers, and more of the perceptions of them. 'Cavalier' now as an adjective has fairly negative connotations, but historically it meant the same as 'cavalryman', and especially a gentlemanly one, sort of like what 'chivalrous' means today. Both of those words come from 'caballus', but 'cavalier' once took on the meaning of a supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War, and after that changed significantly. Considering however that 'caballero', and 'chevalier' both have the meaning of 'a gentleman' and 'horseman', it might be safe to say that at least historically there were mostly positive associations to the sort of person who rides off into battle on a trusty steed, perhaps even with shining armor.