Cav`a*lier" , a. Gay; easy; offhand; frank.
The plodding,
persevering scupulous accuracy of the one, and the easy, cavalier, verbal fluency of the other, form a complete contrast.
Hazlitt.
2. High-spirited. [Obs.]
"The people are naturally not valiant, and not much
cavalier." Suckling.
3. Supercilious; haughty;
disdainful; curt; brusque.
4. Of or pertaining to the party
of King Charles I. "An old
Cavalier family."
Beaconsfield.
Cav`a*lier" (kăv`&adot;*lēr"),
n. [F. cavalier, It.
cavaliere, LL. caballarius, fr. L.
caballus. See Cavalcade, and cf. Chevalier, Caballine.]
1. A military man serving on horseback; a knight.
2. A gay,
sprightly, military man; hence, a
gallant.
3. One of the court party in the time of king Charles I. as contrasted with a Roundhead or an adherent of Parliament. Clarendon.
4. (Fort.) A work of more
than ordinary height, rising from the level ground of a bastion,
etc., and overlooking surrounding parts.
Hear it pronounced