valiant

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈvæliənt/ See IPA manual

Freq #13465

Meanings

1

adj
having or showing valor

A valiant attempt to prevent the hijack.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · having or showing valor valorous

More dauntless doughty fearless heroic chivalrous gallant intrepid plucky soldierlike

Opposites

dastardly fainthearted recreant uncourageous

Word family

Forms valiantly

Derived forms pot-valiantpotvaliantvaliancevaliantlyvaliantnessvalor valour

Related forms prevalent

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

valiant soldier
a soldier who displays courage in danger

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Valiant entered English in the Middle Ages from Old French vailant, based on Latin valere, “to be strong.” Its early meanings included “robust” and “well built” as well as “courageous.”

Etymology

From Middle English vailaunt (“having or showing courage or valour, valiant; characterized by valour; powerful, strong; person of valour or strength; excellent, worthy; beneficial, useful; valuable; legally valid, binding”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman vaillaunt, vaylant [and other forms], and Old French vailant, vaillant (“brave, valiant; having value, valuable”) [and other forms], from the present participle of valoir (“to have value; to be worth”), from Latin valēre (“to have value; to be worth; to be strong; to have influence or power”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁...

*h₂welh₁- Proto-Indo-European vailaunt Middle English vaillaunt xno vailant Old French valeō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# valiant

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈvæliənt/
**Frequency rank:** 13465

## Meanings
1. having or showing valor

## Examples
- A valiant attempt to prevent the hijack.

## Synonyms
- valorous
- dauntless
- doughty
- fearless
- heroic
- chivalrous
- gallant
- intrepid
- plucky
- soldierlike

## Antonyms
- dastardly
- fainthearted
- recreant
- uncourageous

## Derived Forms
- pot-valiant
- potvaliant
- valiance
- valiantly
- valiantness
- valor
- valour

## Related Forms
- prevalent

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₂welh₁-
- Root: vailaunt
- Root: vaillaunt
- Root: vailant
- Root: valeō

## Etymology
From Middle English vailaunt (“having or showing courage or valour, valiant; characterized by valour; powerful, strong; person of valour or strength; excellent, worthy; beneficial, useful; valuable; legally valid, binding”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman vaillaunt, vaylant [and other forms], and Old French vailant, vaillant (“brave, valiant; having value, valuable”) [and other forms], from the present participle of valoir (“to have value; to be worth”), from Latin valēre (“to have value; to be worth; to be strong; to have influence or power”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁...

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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