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Gallant vs Friendly - What's the difference?

gallant | friendly |

As adjectives the difference between gallant and friendly

is that gallant is brave, valiant or gallant can be polite and attentive to ladies; courteous to women; chivalrous while friendly is generally warm, approachable and easy to relate with in character.

As nouns the difference between gallant and friendly

is that gallant is (dated) fashionable young man, who is polite and attentive to women while friendly is (sports) a game which is of no consequence in terms of ranking, betting etc.

As a verb gallant

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

As an adverb friendly is

in a friendly manner, like a friend.

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 ----

    friendly

    English

    Adjective

  • Generally warm, approachable and easy to relate with in character.
    • Your cat seems very friendly .
  • *
    • They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups. The boy became volubly friendly and bubbling over with unexpected humour and high spirits.
  • Inviting, characteristic of friendliness.
    • He gave a friendly smile.
  • Having an easy relationship with something, as in user-friendly etc.
  • Without any hostility.
    • a friendly competition
    a friendly power or state
  • * (1800-1859)
    • in friendly relations with his moderate opponents
  • Promoting the good of any person; favourable; propitious.
    • a friendly breeze or gale
  • * (Joseph Addison) (1672-1719)
    • On the first friendly bank he throws him down.
  • (military) Of or pertaining to friendlies (friendly noun sense 2, below). Also applied to other bipolar confrontations, such as team sports
    • The soldier was killed by friendly fire.
  • *
  • *
  • (number theory) Being or relating to two or more natural numbers with a common abundancy.
    • friendly''' numbers;  '''friendly''' pairs;  '''friendly n-tuples

    Antonyms

    * unfriendly * hostile

    Derived terms

    * family friendly * friendliness * friendly fire * Friendly Islands * radio-friendly * user-friendly

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • In a friendly manner, like a friend.
  • * 1646 , (Thomas Browne), Pseudodoxia Epidemica :
    • And we cannot doubt, our Brothers in Physick [...] will friendly accept, if not countenance our endeavours.

    Synonyms

    * amicably, friendlily

    Noun

    (friendlies)
  • (sports) A game which is of no consequence in terms of ranking, betting etc.
    • ''Even as friendlies , derbies often arouse strong emotions
  • A person or entity on the same side of a conflict.
  • * 2008 , Dennis Wengert, A Very Healthy Insanity (page 44)
    • You see, the mission of almost every teenage girl on the loose is to first identify the targets, just like a war. These include the primary objective (the boy), the enemy (other girls), the friendlies (sympathetic girl friends and the boy's family), and unfriendlies (other boys).