Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Gallant

Gal′lant (găl′lant), a. [F. gallant, prop. p. pr. of OF. galer to rejoice, akin to OF. gale amusement, It. gala ornament; of German origin; cf. OHG. geil merry, luxuriant, wanton, G. geil lascivious, akin to AS. gāl wanton, wicked, OS. gēl merry, Goth. gailjan to make to rejoice, or perh. akin to E. weal. See Gala, Galloon.]

1. Showy; splendid; magnificent; gay; well-dressed.

The town is built in a very gallant place. Evelyn.

Our royal, good and gallant ship. Shak.

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. Shak.

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

Syn. — 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.

Gal·lant′, a. Polite and attentive to ladies; courteous to women; chivalrous.

Gal·lant′, n. 1. A man of mettle or spirit; a gay, fashionable man; a young blood. Shak.

2. One fond of paying attention to ladies.

3. One who wooes; a lover; a suitor; in a bad sense, a seducer. Addison.

☞ In the first sense it is by some orthoëpists (as in Shakespeare) accented on the first syllable.

Gal·lant′ (găl·lănt′), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gallanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Gallanting.] 1. To attend or wait on, as a lady; as, to gallant ladies to the play.

2. To handle with grace or in a modish manner; as, to gallant a fan. [Obs.] Addison.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.