† ˈale-ˈknight Obs.
[f. ale 4 + knight, used derisively; cf. carpet-knight, knight of the ellwand, etc.]
A votary of the ale-house, a tippler.
| 1575 Eccl. Proc. Chester [The Vicar of Whalley, Lanc., is charged with being] a common dronker and ale knight. 1598 E. Guilpin Skial. (1878) 55 There brauls an Ale-knight for his fat-grown score. 1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. 325 S. Urban for Ale-Knights or Pot-Companions. 1864 Chambers Bk. Days II. 597 This man was a regularly dubbed ale-knight, loved barley wine to the full. |