Definition of DRAGOON

dragoon

Meanings

Plural: dragoons

Noun

  • a member of a European military unit formerly composed of heavily armed cavalrymen
  • Synonym of dragon (“a type of musket with a short, large-calibre barrel and a flared muzzle, metaphorically exhaling fire like a mythical dragon”).
  • Originally (historical), a soldier armed with a dragoon musket (sense 1.1) who fought both on foot and mounted on a horse; now, a cavalier or horse soldier from a regiment formerly armed with such muskets.
  • A man with a fierce or unrefined manner, like a dragoon (sense 1.2).
  • A variety of pigeon, originally a cross between a horseman and a tumbler.

Verb

  • compel by coercion, threats, or crude means
  • subjugate by imposing troops
  • To subject (a Huguenot) to the dragonnades (“a policy instituted by Louis XIV of France in 1681 to intimidate Protestant Huguenots to convert to Roman Catholicism by billeting dragoons (noun sense 1.2) in their homes to abuse them and destroy or steal their possessions”).
  • Chiefly followed by into: to force (someone) into doing something through harassment and intimidation; to coerce.
  • To cause (someone) to be attacked by dragoons.

Origin / Etymology

The noun is borrowed from French dragon (“dragon (mythological creature); type of cavalry soldier, dragoon”) (originally referring to a soldier armed with the firearm of the same name (sense 1.1)), ultimately from Latin dracō (“dragon; kind of serpent or snake”), from Ancient Greek δρᾰ́κων (drắkōn, “dragon; serpent”), possibly from δέρκομαι (dérkomai, “to see, see clearly (in the sense of something staring)”), from Proto-Indo-European *derḱ- (“to see”)). Doublet of Draco, dracone, and dragon.
The verb is either derived:
* from the noun; or
* from French dragonner (“to force (someone) into doing something, coerce; to torment (oneself)”), from dragon (noun) (see above) + -er (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs).

Scrabble Score: 9

dragoon is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
dragoon is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
dragoon is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

dragoon is a valid Words With Friends word