n.
In late 16th-century Europe, a mounted soldier who fought as a light cavalryman on attack and as a dismounted infantryman on defense.
The term derived from his weapon, a short musket called the dragoon. Dragoons were organized in companies, and their officers bore infantry titles. By the 18th century, dragoon referred to members of certain cavalry regiments. The term is still applied in the British Army to certain armoured reconnaissance units.