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Definition of "gallantry" []

  • Nobility of spirit or action; courage. (noun)
  • Chivalrous attention toward women; courtliness: "the air of faintly mocking gallantry with which he habitually treated mother” ( Louis Auchincloss). (noun)
  • The act or an instance of gallant speech or behavior. (noun)
  • Archaic A bold or stylish appearance. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "gallantry" in a sentence
  • "What a dreadful dreadful place this great world of yours is, Arthur; where husbands do not seem to care for their wives; where mothers do not love their children; where children love their nurses best; where men talk what they call gallantry!"
  • "Besides, he began to find himself a mere novice in French gallantry, which is supported by an amazing volubility of tongue, and obsequious and incredible attention to trifles, a surprising faculty of laughing out of pure complaisance, and a nothingness of conversation which he could never attain."
  • "She came up to me, though, with a sweet, sad expression in her face and a trusting look in her eyes that made my heart bound, as she laid her hands in mine and thanked me for what she called my gallantry; and I was so taken up by her words that I hardly noticed the scowl"