different between gallant vs elegant

English

Alternative forms

• gallaunt (obsolete)

Etymology 1

From Middle English galant, galaunt, from Old French galant (“courteous; dashing; brave”), present participle of galer (“to rejoice; make merry”), from gale (“pomp; show; festivity; mirth”); either from Frankish *wala- (“good, well”), from Proto-Germanic *wal-, from Proto-Indo-European *welh?- (“to choose, wish”); or alternatively from Frankish *gail (“merry; mirthful; proud; luxuriant”), from Proto-Germanic *gailaz (“merry; excited; luxurious”), related to Dutch geil (“horny; lascivious; salacious; lecherous”), German geil (“randy; horny; lecherous; wicked”), Old English g?l (“wanton; wicked; bad”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??æl?nt/
• Rhymes: -æl?nt

Adjective

gallant (comparative more gallant, superlative most gallant)

1. brave, valiant.
2. honorable.

   • Captain Edward Carlisle […] felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, […]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard.

3. grand, noble.
4. (obsolete) Showy; splendid; magnificent; gay; well-dressed.

   • This town [is built in a very gallant place.

Related terms

• gallantly
• gallantry

Translations

Etymology 2

From French

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???lænt/, /??æl?nt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /???l?nt/, /??æl?nt/
• Rhymes: -ænt

Adjective

gallant (comparative more gallant, superlative most gallant)

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

Translations

Noun

gallant (plural gallants)

1. (dated) A fashionable young man who is polite and attentive to women.
   • 1610, The Tempest, by Shakespeare, act 1 scene 2

     PROSPERO: […] this gallant which thou see'st / Was in the wrack; and but he's something stain'd / with grief,—that beauty's canker,—thou mightst call him / A goodly person […]

2. One who woos, a lover, a suitor, a seducer.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

     […] they were discovered in a very improper manner by the husband of the gypsy, who, from jealousy it seems, had kept a watchful eye over his wife, and had dogged her to the place, where he found her in the arms of her gallant.

   • 1819, John Keats, Otho the Great, Act III, Scene II, verses 140–143

     The ignominy of that whisper’d tale / About a midnight gallant, seen to climb / A window to her chamber neighbour’d near, / I will from her turn off, […]

3. (nautical) topgallant

Translations

Verb

gallant (third-person singular simple present gallants, present participle gallanting, simple past and past participle gallanted)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To attend or wait on (a lady).

2. (obsolete, transitive) To handle with grace or in a modish manner.

References

• gallant in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Welsh

Alternative forms

• gallan (colloquial)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??a?ant/

Verb

gallant

1. (literary) third-person plural present/future of gallu

Mutation

English

Etymology

From Middle French elegant, ultimately from Latin elegans.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??l.?.??nt/

Adjective

elegant (comparative more elegant, superlative most elegant)

1. Characterised by or exhibiting elegance.
2. Characterised by minimalism and intuitiveness while preserving exactness and precision.

   an elegant solution

3. (Ireland, colloquial, archaic) Fine; doing well.

Synonyms

• (exhibiting elegance): classy, graceful

Antonyms

• clumsy
• haphazard
• inelegant

Derived terms

• elegance

Related terms

• elect
• eligible
• elite

Translations

Anagrams

• angelet

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin ?leg?ns.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ant

Adjective

elegant (masculine and feminine plural elegants)

1. elegant

   Antonym: inelegant

Derived terms

• elegantment

Related terms

• elegància
• inelegant

Further reading

• “elegant” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “elegant” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “elegant” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “elegant” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from French élégant, from Latin ?leg?ns.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /el??ant/, [el????an?d?]

Adjective

elegant

1. elegant, smart
2. elegant, neat
3. (adverbial) elegantly, smartly, neatly

Inflection

Derived terms

• uelegant

References

• “elegant” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French elegant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?e?l????nt/
• Hyphenation: ele?gant
• Rhymes: -?nt

Adjective

elegant (comparative eleganter, superlative elegantst)

1. elegant

Inflection

Synonyms

• sierlijk
• gracieus

Antonyms

• lomp
• plomp

Derived terms

• elegantie

Anagrams

• gelaten

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French elegant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ele??ant/, /el???ant/
• Rhymes: -ant

Adjective

elegant (comparative eleganter, superlative am elegantesten)

1. elegant

Declension

Further reading

• “elegant” in Duden online

Middle French

Adjective

elegant m (feminine singular elegante, masculine plural elegants, feminine plural elegantes)

1. elegant

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin elegans, via French élégant

Adjective

elegant (neuter singular elegant, definite singular and plural elegante)

1. elegant

Related terms

• eleganse

References

• “elegant” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin elegans, via French élégant

Adjective

elegant (neuter singular elegant, definite singular and plural elegante)

1. elegant

Related terms

• eleganse

References

• “elegant” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

From French élégant, from Latin ?leg?ns.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??l?.?ant/

Noun

elegant m pers (diminutive elegancik, feminine elegantka)

1. elegant man

Declension

Further reading

• elegant in Wielki s?ownik j?zyka polskiego, Instytut J?zyka Polskiego PAN
• elegant in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

From French élégant, from Latin elegans.

Adjective

elegant m or n (feminine singular elegant?, masculine plural elegan?i, feminine and neuter plural elegante)

1. tasteful

Declension

Swedish

Etymology

From Latin elegans, via French élégant

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??l???ant/

Adjective

elegant (comparative elegantare, superlative elegantast)

1. elegant

Declension

See also

• elegans c (noun)

References

• elegant in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• elegant in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• legaten