Soldier refers to a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas, a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be a mercenary.[1] In most languages, "soldier" includes commissioned and non-commissioned officers in national land forces.
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Etymology
The word soldier is derived from an Old French word, itself a derivation of Solidarius, Latin for someone who served in the armed forces for pay, as opposed to warriors in tribal society where every grown man is automatically a member of his clan's fighting force. Solidare in Latin means "to pay"; Roman soldiers were paid in solidi, so-called because they were a new type of solid silver coin brought in after a reform of the Roman monetary system.
Non-English equivalents
The common Roman's origin for the words soldier and payment survives not only in French as soldat and solde, but also in other languages, like German Soldat and Sold, Spanish soldado and sueldo, Portuguese soldado and soldo, Dutch soldaat and soldij, Italian "soldato" and "soldo", Arabic "Jondi, جندي" or "mojannad, مجنّد" or "Askar, عسكر" in the Lebanese Dialect.
In the Russian language the word soldier is also "солдат" ("soldat"), although it is not related to the Russian word for money, but was borrowed from German use. In some languages the word soldier is derived from different etymology. For example Estonian "sõdur" is derived from word "sõda," which means "war." And Finnish "sotilas" or "soturi", and "sota" meaning "war".
Occupational designations
In most armed forces the word soldier has been mostly abandoned, due to the increasing specialisation of military occupations that require different areas of knowledge and skill-sets. As a result, 'soldier' has been replaced by names which reflect an individual's Arm, Service or Branch of military employment, their type of unit, or operational employment or technical use such as: trooper, tanker, Commando, dragoon, infantryman, marine, paratrooper, ranger, sniper, engineer, sapper, or a gunner.
U.S. Army Soldiers in Baghdad, Iraq in 2007Other terms
In many countries soldiers serving in specific occupations are referred to by terms other than their occupational name. For example military police personnel in the U.K. are known as "redcaps" from the colour of their berets or other headwear.
In the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps, infantrymen are called "grunts", while artillerymen are sometimes referred to as "redlegs", from the branch color for artillery. In the UK Royal Artillery men are occasionally known as "drop shorts" due to their alleged propensity for dropping rounds short of the intended target.
French Marine Infantry are called marsouins (porpoises) because of their amphibious role. Military units in most armies have nicknames of this type, arising either from items of distinctive uniform, some historical connotation or rivalry between branches or regiments.
For example, U.S. Marines are sometimes called jar-heads because of their "high and tight" haircuts and the way they wear their hats makes their heads look like the cap of a jar or decanter. U.S. Army soldiers are sometimes called "Hooas" for the reply they give when acknowledging orders or verbal commands.
See also
References
- ^ "mercenary." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 16 May. 2009. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary1.classic.reference.com/browse/mercenary>.
External links
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Soldier |
Categories: Military life | Military personnel | Military occupations | Soldiers
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BBC News
The platoon I was embedded with lost three of its 36 soldiers , and had a further 10 wounded. The figures for the battalion to which they belonged were 18 ...
Four foreign soldiers killed in south Afghanistan Reuters
Vehicle accident leaves 2 NATO soldiers dead in N Afghanistan Xinhua
UK Sending 140 More Soldiers to Fight Taliban Bloomberg
AFP - AFP - Xinhua
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unknown
hu, 16 Jul 2009 14:51:59 GM
Since 2005, a handful of Fort Carson . soldiers. who have faced brutal combat in Iraq have returned home and been linked to a murder.
Q. -How many Australian soldiers were conscripted for Vietnam? -How many Australian soldiers signed up themselves for Vietnam? -How many Australian soldiers went altogether? -How many Australian soldiers died? -How many were wounded? -What happened to them when they returned from Vietnam?
Asked by Jesus Christ! - Mon Mar 16 03:13:45 2009 - - 1 Answers - 0 Comments
A. Some of your answers can be found at the source links I posted below.
Answered by Horatio - Mon Mar 16 21:53:08 2009
