knight service
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The tenure of land, under the feudal system, on the condition of rendering military service to the Crown.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “knight service” mean?
The tenure of land, under the feudal system, on the condition of rendering military service to the Crown.
Is “knight service” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.