mercenary

C2 Topic:War & Conflict

US /ˈmɝ.sə.ˌnɛɹ.i/ UK /ˈmɜː.sə.nə.ɹi/ See IPA manual

Freq #13831

Meanings

1

noun
A soldier who fights for any country or group that pays them, rather than out of loyalty.

The dictator hired foreign mercenaries to crush the rebellion.
2

adj
Motivated mainly by money or personal gain.

Her mercenary attitude meant she only helped people who could repay her.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a soldier who fights for... soldier of fortune

2 adj · motivated mainly by money... greedy venal materialistic

More adventurer bravo condottiere filibuster freebooterfreelancehirelingmercsellsword

Word family

Forms mercenaries

Etymology

From Middle English mercenarye (“someone paid to work, hireling”), from Latin mercēnārius (“hired for money”), from mercēs (“reward, wages, price”).

mercenarye Middle English mercēnārius Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

War & Conflict Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# mercenary

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈmɝ.sə.ˌnɛɹ.i/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmɜː.sə.nə.ɹi/
**Frequency rank:** 13831

## Meanings
1. A soldier who fights for any country or group that pays them, rather than out of loyalty.
2. Motivated mainly by money or personal gain.

## Examples
- The dictator hired foreign mercenaries to crush the rebellion.
- Her mercenary attitude meant she only helped people who could repay her.

## Synonyms
- adventurer
- bravo
- condottiere
- filibuster
- freebooter
- freelance
- hireling
- merc
- sellsword

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mercenarye
- Root: mercēnārius

## Etymology
From Middle English mercenarye (“someone paid to work, hireling”), from Latin mercēnārius (“hired for money”), from mercēs (“reward, wages, price”).

## AI Etymology
Mercenary is from Middle English mercenarye (“someone paid to work, hireling”), from Latin mercēnārius (“hired for money”), from mercēs (“reward, wages, price”). Important recorded forms include mercenarye (Middle English) and mercēnārius (Latin). Current senses include a soldier who fights for any country or group that pays them, rather than out of loyalty and motivated mainly by money or personal gain.

## Topics
- War & Conflict
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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