Knight

a person who, in ancient times, on account of some eminent service, civil or military, was singled out from the common cla of gentlemen, . and was personally invested with a title. This word, which was originally derived from the German and Dutch knecht or kneht, signifies a servant, in which sense it is applied when we speak of the knight of a shire; it likewise means a military man, or rather a horseman, from the Latin eques, a soldier or horseman; knights of this description having been either the king’s domestic servants or of his life guards. In common law they are called milites , usually holding lands under the feudal tenure by knight’s service, to serve the king in his wars.