Federal soldier
1
5.8
- noun
- /ˈfɛdərəl ˈsoʊldʒər/
- Archaic
:
soldado federal
- She proudly displayed the letters her ancestor had written as a federal soldier in the Union Army.
Examples
-
It took a garrison of 20,000 federal soldiers to restore order and permit the draft to go forward.
Academic text (2000) -
Then the federal soldiers came in and took everything that was left and set fire to the houses.
Blog text (29) -
Behind them, a cloud of dust masked more federal soldiers.
Fiction book (1992) -
Numerous southern newspapers, for example, labeled Federal soldiers as "Hessians."
Academic text (2018) -
When those federal soldiers saw those French and British troops moving up on line on either side of Lee's flanks, many of 'em just broke and ran.
-
The federal soldier marched through the town, enforcing order during the Civil War.
-
After a long battle, the federal soldiers celebrated their victory with heartfelt cheers.
Synonyms
16
9.5
A soldier who fought for the Union in the American Civil War
6
4.1
A soldier who fought for the Union in the American Civil War
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'federal' = relating to the national/federal government and 'soldier' = an enlisted member of the army, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a soldier serving the federal (national) government. The specific historical reference to the Union Army in the American Civil War is cultural detail but does not prevent the basic sense from being transparently derived from the constituents.
Etymology
Federal soldier was a name for a soldier who fought for the country's government, the 'Union', during the American Civil War. Imagine a man in a blue uniform marching with the flag to keep the country together; that picture shows why Federal soldier means a member of the 'Union' army.