Knife"board` (?), n. A board on which knives are cleaned or polished.
Knife"-edge` (?), n. (Mech.) A piece of steel sharpened to an acute
edge or angle, and resting on a smooth surface, serving as the axis of
motion of a pendulum, scale beam, or other piece required to oscillate
with the least possible friction.
Knife-edge file. See Illust. of File.
Knight (?), n. [OE. knight, cniht, knight, soldier, As. cniht, cneoht,
a boy, youth, attendant, military follower; akin to D. & G. knecht
servant; perh. akin to E. kin.] 1. A young servant or follower; a
military attendant. [Obs.]
2. (a) In feudal times, a man-at-arms serving on horseback and admitted
to a certain military rank with special ceremonies, including an oath
to protect the distressed, maintain the right, and live a stainless
life. (b) One on whom knighthood, a dignity next below that of baronet,
is conferred by the sovereign, entitling him to be addressed as Sir;
as, Sir John. [Eng.] Hence: (c) A champion; a partisan; a lover. "Give
this ring to my true knight." Shak "In all your quarrels will I be your
knight." Tennyson.
Knights, by their oaths, should right poor ladies' harms.
Shak.
Formerly, when a knight's name was not known, it was customary to
address him as Sir Knight. The rank of a knight is not hereditary.