Gallant — Defs

01 a. Showy; splendid; magnificent; gay; well-dressed.

1.
Showy; splendid; magnificent; gay; well-dressed.
“The town is built in a very gallant place.” — Evelyn.

“Our royal, good and gallant ship.” — Shak.
2.
Noble in bearing or spirit; brave; high-spirited; courageous; heroic; magnanimous; as, a gallant youth; a gallant officer.
“That gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds.” — Shak.

“The gay, the wise, the gallant, and the grave.” — Waller.

Syn. Gallant, Courageous, Brave.

Courageous is generic, denoting an inward spirit which rises above fear; brave is more outward, marking a spirit which braves or defies danger; gallant rises still higher, denoting bravery on extraordinary occasions in a spirit of adventure. A courageous man is ready for battle; a brave man courts it; a gallant man dashes into the midst of the conflict.

02 a. Polite and attentive to ladies; courteous to women; chivalrous.

1.
Polite and attentive to ladies; courteous to women; chivalrous.

03 n. A man of mettle or spirit; a gay, fashionable man; a young blood.

1.
A man of mettle or spirit; a gay, fashionable man; a young blood.
2.
One fond of paying attention to ladies.
3.
One who wooes; a lover; a suitor; in a bad sense, a seducer.

04 v. t. To attend or wait on, as a lady; as, to gallant ladies to the play.

imp. & p. p. Gallanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Gallanting

1.
To attend or wait on, as a lady; as, to gallant ladies to the play.
2.
To handle with grace or in a modish manner; as, to gallant a fan.[Obs.]