Chivalrous comes from Old French chevaleros ('knightly'), from chevalier ('knight, horseman'), from Medieval Latin caballarius ('horseman'), from Latin caballus ('horse'). The historical trail runs through chevalier in Old French and caballus in Latin. Used as an adjective, chivalrous now means "courteous and gallant, especially toward women", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as chivalrously and chivalrousness and related forms such as chivalry, cavalier, and chevalier. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.