Definition of "cavalier" []

• A gallant or chivalrous man, especially one serving as escort to a woman of high social position; a gentleman. (noun)
• A mounted soldier; a knight. (noun)
• A supporter of Charles I of England in his struggles against Parliament. Also called Royalist. (noun)
• Showing arrogant or offhand disregard; dismissive: a cavalier attitude toward the suffering of others. (adjective)
• Carefree and nonchalant; jaunty. (adjective)

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.

• "The "I have no life so I sit on IRC 24 hours a day" award goes to: cavalier (cav, cavalier_)"
• "Although it originally had connotations of being gallant, in the context of the revolution the term cavalier would come to be used by the opponents of the king as a derogatory term for anyone who acted in an aristocratic or haughty manner."
• "Zau al-Makan thanked him therefor, and the slogan arose and the sabre was drawn; but, as things stood thus, behold, there came forth a cavalier from the ranks of Roum; and, as he drew near, they saw that he was mounted on a slow paced she mule, fleeing with her master from the shock of swords."