Cav`a*lier" (kăv`&adot;*lēr"),
n. [F. cavalier, It. cavaliere,
LL. caballarius, fr. L. caballus. See
Cavalcade, and cf. Chevalier, Caballine.]
1. A military man serving on horseback; a
knight.
2. A gay, sprightly, military man; hence,
a gallant.
3. One of the court party in the time of
king Charles I. as contrasted with a Roundhead or an adherent of
Parliament. Clarendon.
4. (Fort.) A work of more than
ordinary height, rising from the level ground of a bastion, etc.,
and overlooking surrounding parts.
Cav`a*lier", a. Gay; easy;
offhand; frank.
The plodding, persevering scupulous accuracy of
the one, and the easy, cavalier, verbal fluency of the
other, form a complete contrast.
Hazlitt.
2. High-spirited. [Obs.] "The
people are naturally not valiant, and not much cavalier."
Suckling.
3. Supercilious; haughty; disdainful;
curt; brusque.
4. Of or pertaining to the party of King
Charles I. "An old Cavalier family."
Beaconsfield.
