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May 2007Just Foolin' AroundMemorial Day (then known as Decoration Day) was first observed in 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers. Today, soldiers from many more wars are honored. Using the search fields in the Collegiate Dictionary, we found 117 terms relating to soldiers, ranging from adventurer (a soldier of fortune) to yardbird (a soldier assigned to a menial task or restricted to a limited area as a disciplinary measure). We've pulled out a few particularly interesting ones. Interested in the full list? Select the Collegiate as your reference source, then type soldier into the definition field and noun into the function field and click on Search. bluecoat : a Union soldier during the American Civil War Buffalo soldier : an African-American soldier serving in the western U.S. after the Civil War butternut : a soldier or partisan of the Confederacy during the American Civil War condottiere 1 : a leader of a band of mercenaries common in Europe between the 14th and 16th centuries; also : a member of such a band 2 : a mercenary soldier dogface : soldier; especially : infantryman fugleman 1 : a trained soldier formerly posted in front of a line of soldiers at drill to serve as a model in their exercises miles gloriosus : a boastful soldier; especially : a stock character of this type in comedy perdu obsolete : a soldier assigned to particularly hazardous duty sad sack : an inept soldier swashbuckler : a swaggering or daring soldier or adventurer |