gallant

GAL'LANT, adjective [Eng. could; Latin gallus, a cock.] 1. Gay; well dressed; showy; splendid; magnificent. Neither shall gallant ships pass thereby. Isaiah 33:21. The gay, the wise, the gallant and the grave. [This sense is obsolete.] 2. Brave; high-spirited; courageous; heroic; magnanimous; as a gallant youth; a gallant officer. 3. Fine; noble. 4. Courtly; civil; polite and attentive to ladies; courteous. GALLANT', noun A gay, sprightly man; a courtly or fashionable man. 1. A man who is polite and attentive to ladies; one who attends upon ladies at parties, or to places of amusement. 2. A wooer; a lover; a suitor. 3. In an ill sense, one who caresses a woman for lewd purposes. GALLANT', verb transitive To attend or wait on, as a lady. 1. To handle with grace or in a modish manner; as, to gallant a fan.