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Darling vs Gallant - What's the difference?

darling | gallant |

As a proper noun darling

is , originally a nickname from darling.

As an adjective gallant is

brave, valiant or gallant can be polite and attentive to ladies; courteous to women; chivalrous.

As a noun gallant is

(dated) fashionable young man, who is polite and attentive to women.

As a verb gallant is

(obsolete|transitive) to attend or wait on (a lady).

darling

English

Alternative forms

* (informal) *

Noun

(en noun)
  • A person who is dear to one.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1
    • , passage=But Richmond, his grandfather's darling , after one thoughtful glance cast under his lashes at that uncompromising countenance appeared to lose himself in his own reflections.}}
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 15, author=Felicity Cloake, work=Guardian
    • , title= How to cook the perfect nut roast , passage=If there's such a thing as pariah food – a recipe shunned by mainstream menus, mocked to near extinction and consigned to niche hinterlands for evermore – then the nut roast, a dish whose very name has become a watchword for sawdusty disappointment, is surely a strong contender. One of the darlings of the early vegetarian movement (particularly in its even sadder form, the cutlet), it was on the menu at John Harvey Kellogg's Battle Creek Sanitarium [sic], and has since become the default Sunday option for vegetarians – and a default source of derision for everyone else.}}

    Synonyms

    * * * *

    Derived terms

    * media darling

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Dear; cherished.
    • She is my darling wife of twenty-two years.
  • charming
    • Well isn't that a darling little outfit she has on.

    Usage notes

    darlinger is rarely used.

    Anagrams

    * English affectionate terms

    gallant

    English

    Alternative forms

    * gallaunt (obsolete)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Brave, valiant.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
    • That gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds.
  • Honorable.
  • *
    • Captain Edward Carlisle; 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.
  • Grand, noble.
  • (lb) Showy; splendid; magnificent; gay; well-dressed.
  • * (John Evelyn) (1620-1706)
    • The town is built in a very gallant place.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
    • our royal, good and gallant ship
    Related terms
    * gallantly * gallantry

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl)

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Polite and attentive to ladies; courteous to women; chivalrous.

    • Noun

    (en noun)
  • (dated) Fashionable young man, who is polite and attentive to women.
  • * 1610 , , 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 [...]
  • One who woos, a lover, a suitor, a seducer.
  • * 1819 , , 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,
  • An animal or thing of grey colour, such as a horse, badger, or salmon.
  • * Sir Walter Scott
    • Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day, / That costs thy life, my gallant grey .
  • (nautical) topgallant

    • Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To attend or wait on (a lady).
    • to gallant ladies to the play
  • (obsolete) To handle with grace or in a modish manner.
    • to gallant a fan

    References

    * English heteronyms ----