To strip someone of their knighthood or to remove their status as a knight.
From the prefix 'de-' meaning 'remove' or 'reverse,' combined with 'knight.' This word dates back to medieval and early modern English when the honors and titles of nobility could be legally revoked as punishment.
When someone gets 'deknighted,' they experience the medieval equivalent of public shame—in 2022, a real British prince was deknighted for the first time in decades, making this ancient word suddenly relevant again.
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