unknightv.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈnʌɪt/, U.S. /ˌənˈnaɪt/ transitive. To remove (a person) from the rank of knight; to strip of a knighthood; (also) to cease to treat (a person) as a knight.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > raising to noble rank > divesting of rank or title > divesting of rank, title, or character [verb (transitive)] > of knighthood
unknight1600
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xliv. 1180 The Censors..tooke a survey of the number of citizens and an estimate of their goods... Many were unknighted and had their horses taken from them [L. multis equi adempti].
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Yorks. 207 Another Author unknighteth him, allowing him only a plain Esquire.
1763 W. Dowdeswell Addr. Electors Great-Brit. 20 A man cannot un-lord, un-knight, un-'squire himself.
1774 H. Kelly Romance of Hour i. 2 I did not ask them to knight me, and they may unknight me again, if they like it.
1844 Peter Parley's Ann. 251 By St. George, I will unknight thee.
1856 J. Doran Knights & their Days xxx. 489 Knights, irregularly made so, were unknighted with little ceremony.
1930 Eng. Rev. Mar. 358 Not content with knighting the father, Dryasdust, flushed with prerogative, unknights the son.
2013 Guardian 31 July 2/3 The Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who was unknighted the day before his 1989 execution.
Derivatives
unˈknighting n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > raising to noble rank > divesting of rank or title > [noun] > of knighthood
unknighting1856
1856 J. Doran Knights & their Days xxx. 490 There are fewer examples of unknighting in this country than in France.
1994 C. L. Bilharz Quest of Silverush (2000) vii. 119 The unknighting began, a dismal ceremony..ending with the removal of the seal of knighthood and the seal of the king's champion.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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