soldier

Definition

A member of a ground-based army, of any rank, but especially an enlisted member.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English soudeour, from Old French soudier or soudeour (“mercenary”), from Medieval Latin soldarius (“soldier (one having pay)”), from Late Latin solidus, a type of coin. Displaced Old English cempa (whence obsolete kemp). (red herring): An allusion to soldiers' red uniforms; red herring is, reciprocally, a slang term for "soldier".

Example Sentences

• "My friends and I saw a soldier questioning a man holding a bag with a gun in his pocket."
• "The Citizens in their rage, imagining that euery poſt in the Churche had bin one of yᵉ Souldyers, ſhot habbe or nabbe at randon uppe to the Roode lofte, and to the Chancell, leauing ſome of theyr arrowes ſticking in the Images."
• "I am a soldier and unapt to weep."