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legionnaire

legionnaire

3 8.1
A soldier who serves in the French Foreign Legion
  • noun
  • /ˌliːdʒəˈnɛr/
translation icon : legionario
  • Many legionnaires come from different countries to join the French Foreign Legion.
  • French legionnaires
  • Roman legionnaire

The oldest guy, the oldest guy in the French army is a Legionnaire and he's a Scottish dude.

Examples

  • The legionnaire stood proudly in his uniform, ready to serve his country.

  • I would say 100 foreign legionnaires could destroy the CAR army within hours.

    Blog text (28)
  • - At least he died a Legionnaire.

  • - Yes, he proved himself a Legionnaire.

  • The Legionnaire of today is not fighting for a few centimes, a bottle and a woman.

  • Luther, in his legionnaire uniform, walks between two sand dunes toward the fort.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • - The following Legionnaires will step forward for today's patrol.

  • But for the brave legionnaires who surrounded my litter, protecting me, I should have died under the hail of stones.

  • A group of scruffy recruits led by a legionnaire corporal-chef march down the platform.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Legionnaires march or die.

Synonyms

legionary
vslegionnaire
1 8.4

A soldier who belongs to a large unit of soldiers, for example in ancient Rome or the French Foreign Legion

is specific to membership in the French Foreign Legion rather than Roman units

Surface Forms

legionnaire singular
legionnaires plural

Morphology

legionnaire = legion (transparent) = legion + naire

Formed from 'legion' + the agentive suffix '-naire', meaning a member of a legion, which is directly derivable.

Etymology

Legionnaire comes from the word legion, from Latin legio meaning 'a body of soldiers'. The ending -naire shows a person who belongs to something, so a legionnaire is a member of a legion — a soldier, especially in the famous French Foreign Legion.