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Stephenlearner Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

Knight and cavalry

Hi,

I am not sure it is the right place to post this thread.
I want to know the differene between a cavalry and a knight.
So it is not simply the difference between two words, I think it is about the two cultures or two systems.

Thank you very much.
  

Top answer

stephenlearner So it is not simply the difference between the two words, I I'll skip the basic meanings then. "knight" usually refers to a soldier of a higher social class , often a nobleman . "cavalry/cavalryman" is traditionally a soldier on a horse ( a cavalryman, unlike a knight, was almost always a commoner ).

— Ivanhr

  • stephenlearner So it is not simply the difference between the two words, I I'll skip the basic meanings then.
  • "knight" usually refers to a soldier of a higher social class , often a nobleman .
  • "cavalry/cavalryman" is traditionally a soldier on a horse ( a cavalryman, unlike a knight, was almost always a commoner ).
  • It's interesting that in modern English the term "cavalry" has survived in the form of "armoured cavalry", which denotes a military unit consisting of tanks and other armoured vehicles.
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4 Answers
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stephenlearnerSo it is not simply the difference between the two words, I
I'll skip the basic meanings then.

"knight" usually refers to a soldier of a higher social class, often a nobleman.

"cavalry/cavalryman" is traditionally a soldier on a horse ( a cavalryman, unlike a knight, was almost always a commoner). It'
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The word "knight" is used almost exclusively in the context of medieval history, that is, during the years from approximately 1100 to 1499 A.D. A knight was primarily a mounted combatant, however, in practice he would often dismount and fight on foot.

The word "cavalry" is a unit of mounted soldiers, and is used to describe such units in all time periods, in particular the 19th century
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You have overlooked two, other definitions of the word knight. They are the first and third ones at this link http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/knight
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Militarily, the difference between a knight and cavalry is that knights wore heavy armor, while cavalry wore light armor. So, if you hear people refer to light cavalry and heavy cavalry, the heavy cavalry evolved into what we know today as knights. Knights were also the ones who filled positions as officers in organized militaries in Europe. That is why modern military officers are saluted by

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