What is "order of the bath"

Bath \Bath\ (b[.a]th; 61), n.; pl. Baths (b[.a][th]z). [AS. b[ae][eth]; akin to OS. & Icel. ba[eth], Sw., Dan., D., & G. bad, and perh. to G. b["a]hen to foment.]

1. The act of exposing the body, or part of the body, for purposes of cleanliness, comfort, health, etc., to water, vapor, hot air, or the like; as, a cold or a hot bath; a medicated bath; a steam bath; a hip bath.

2. Water or other liquid for bathing.

3. A receptacle or place where persons may immerse or wash their bodies in water.

4. A building containing an apartment or a series of apartments arranged for bathing.

   Among the ancients, the public baths were of amazing extent and magnificence.
   --Gwilt.

5. (Chem.) A medium, as heated sand, ashes, steam, hot air, through which heat is applied to a body.

6. (Photog.) A solution in which plates or prints are immersed; also, the receptacle holding the solution.

   Note: Bath is used adjectively or in combination, in an obvious sense of or for baths or bathing; as, bathroom, bath tub, bath keeper.

   Douche bath. See Douche.

   Order of the Bath, a high order of British knighthood, composed of three classes, viz., knights grand cross, knights commanders, and knights companions, abbreviated thus: G. C. B., K. C. B., K. B.

   Russian bath, a kind of vapor bath which consists in a prolonged exposure of the body to the influence of the steam of water, followed by washings and shampooings.

   Turkish bath, a kind of bath in which a profuse perspiration is produced by hot air, after which the body is washed and shampooed.

   Bath house, a house used for the purpose of bathing; -- also a small house, near a bathing place, where a bather undresses and dresses.

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath) is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as "Knights of the Bath". George I "erected the Knights of the Bath into a regular Military Order". He did not (as is commonly believed) revive the Order of the Bath, since it had never previously existed as an Order, in the sense of a body of knights who were governed by a set of statutes and whose numbers were replenished when vacancies occurred.

The Order consists of the Sovereign (currently Queen Elizabeth II), the Great Master (currently The Prince of Wales), and three Classes of members:

• Knight Grand Cross ( GCB) or Dame Grand Cross ( GCB)
• Knight Commander ( KCB) or Dame Commander ( DCB)
• Companion ( CB)

Members belong to either the Civil or the Military Division. Prior to 1815, the order had only a single class, Knight Companion (KB), which no longer exists. Recipients of the Order are now usually senior military officers or senior civil servants. Commonwealth citizens not subjects of the Queen and foreigners may be made Honorary Members.

The Order of the Bath is the fourth-most senior of the British Orders of Chivalry, after The Most Noble Order of the Garter, The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, and The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick (dormant).