I. ˈsōljə(r), substand & dial -ōj-, chiefly Brit sometimes -ōdyə(r noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English souldiour, sodiour, soudier, from Old French souldiour, soudier, from soulde, soude pay, from Late Latin solidus, soldus solidus
1.
a. : a person engaged in military service: as
(1) : an officer or enlisted man serving in an army : a member of an organized body of combatants
(2) : an enlisted man or woman in military service as distinguished from a commissioned or warrant officer
(3) : private 4a
b. : a skilled, experienced, or valorous warrior
c. : a member of the Salvation Army
2. : one that fights for a cause, endures hardships, or otherwise conducts himself gallantly : a militant leader, follower, or worker
soldiers in the cause of peace
3. : any of various animals in some way (as habits, appearance) associated with soldiers: as
a.
(1) : hermit crab
(2) : fiddler crab
b.
(1) : one of a caste of wingless sterile individuals that in most termites differ more or less from the workers in their larger size, very large head, and long jaws and that often perform a share in the work of the colonies
(2) : one of a type of workers among some ants distinguished by exceptionally large head and jaws
c.
(1) dialect England : red gurnard
(2) southern Africa : a silvery pink sparid food fish ( Cheimerius nufar ) widespread in the Indo-Pacific seas
(3) : squirrelfish 1
d. : soldier beetle
e. : red spider
4. : red herring 1
5. soldiers plural : virginia stickseed
6. : a person who shirks his work : loafer , drone
7. : a brick that is placed on end in a wall with its narrow side exposed
II. intransitive verb
( soldiered ; soldiered ; soldiering -(ə)riŋ ; soldiers )
1.
a. : to serve or function as a soldier
soldiered in three wars
b. : to serve satisfactorily as a soldier : behave in a soldierly manner
have to really soldier in such a crack outfit
2. : to make a pretense of working while doing only enough to escape punishment or discharge : affect a pretense of busyness or working : loaf surreptitiously
workers soldiering on the job
3. chiefly dialect : bully
III. noun
: button man herein