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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

3 entries under this word

Gallant

Găl'lant, a.

adjective

a. [Fr. galant, It. galante, Sp. galante, galan, galano, O. Fr. galois, gallois, from Fr., It., & Sp. gala. See GALA.]

Sense 1. Showy; splendid; magnificent; gay; well dressed. “The town is built in a very gallant place.” Evelyn.

Where we, in all her trim, freshly beheld Our royal, good, and gallant ship. Shak.

The gay, the wise, the gallant, and the grave. Waller.

Sense 2. Noble in bearing or spirit; brave; high-spirited; courageous; heroic; magnanimous; as, a gallant youth; a gallant officer.

That gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds, Which too untimely here did scorn the earth. Shak.

Sense 3. (Pron. gal-lănt'.) Polite and attentive to ladies; courteous to women; chivalrous. Clarendon.

Synonyms—GALLANT, COURAGEOUS, BRAVE. Courageous is generic, denoting an inward spirit which rises above fear; brave is more outward, marking a spirit which braves or defies danger; gallant rises still higher, denoting bravery on extraordinary occasions in a spirit of adventure. A courageous man is ready for battle; a brave man courts it; a gallant man dashes into the midst of the conflict.

The king-becoming graces, Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude. Shak.

With firm resolve my steady bosom steel, Bravely to suffer, though I deeply feel. Churchill.

The gallant man, though slain in fight he be, Yet leaves his nation safe, his children free. Pope.

Gal-lānt', n.

noun

(116) (Synop., § 130), n.

  1. A gay, courtly, or fashionable man; one extremely nice on points of courtesy and etiquette; one fond of paying attention to ladies. Shak.
  2. One who wooes; a lover; a suitor; in a bad sense, one who pays attention to a woman for lewd purposes; a seducer. Addison.

Gal-lănt’, v. t.

verbtransitive

[imp. & p. p. GALLANTED; p. pr. & vb. n. GALLANTING.] 1. To attend or wait on, as a lady. 2. To handle with grace or in a modish manner; as, to gallant a fan.