condottiere

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: the commander of a mercenary company in Italy or elsewhere in Europe, especially from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries

   The city hired a celebrated condottiere to command its defenses.

2. 2
   noun

   historical: a member of such a mercenary company; a professional soldier for hire

   The condottiere changed employers when a neighboring republic offered higher pay.

Borrowed from Italian condottiere or condottiero, from condotta, the contract and company by which mercenary troops were hired, + the agent suffix -iere. Condotta derives from condurre ("to lead, hire"), ultimately Latin conducere ("to bring together, hire").

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