infantryman

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a soldier who serves in the infantry and is trained to fight primarily on foot

   The infantryman carried several days of food and ammunition in his pack.

Formed in the nineteenth century from infantry + man. Infantry came through French from Italian or Spanish infanteria, a body of foot soldiers, from infante ("youth, junior soldier"), ultimately Latin infans ("young child"). The historical contrast was with mounted cavalry.

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