knight vs white knight

knight

noun
  • Any mushroom belonging to genus Tricholoma. 

  • A person on whom a knighthood has been conferred by a monarch. 

  • A minor nobleman with an honourable military rank who had served as a page and squire. 

  • An armored and mounted warrior of the Middle Ages. 

  • A chess piece, often in the shape of a horse's head, that is moved two squares in one direction and one at right angles to that direction in a single move, leaping over any intervening pieces. 

  • A person obliged to provide knight service in exchange for maintenance of an estate held in knight's fee. 

  • A brave, chivalrous and honorable man devoted to a noble cause or love interest. 

  • Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Ypthima. 

  • A young servant or follower; a trained military attendant in service of a lord. 

verb
  • To confer knighthood upon. 

  • To promote (a pawn) to a knight. 

white knight

noun
  • A mushroom of species Tricholoma album. 

  • An individual or corporation that intends to acquire another company in order to avert a hostile takeover. 

  • Someone who unnecessarily defends someone else. 

  • A man who defends a woman in debate etc. in an attempt to gain her favour. 

  • A hero, savior, or righteous individual. 

verb
  • To unnecessarily defend someone, especially in an attempt to gain favour. 

How often have the words knight and white knight occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )