pandour

[ pan-door ]

noun
  1. History/Historical. a member of a local militia in Croatia, formed as a regiment in the Austrian army in the 18th century and noted for its ruthlessness and cruelty.

  2. a brutal, marauding soldier.

Origin of pandour

1
1740–50; <French pandour(e) ≪ Serbo-Croatian pàndūr community or city policeman, pandour, probably <Hungarian pandúr<Slavic *pǫdarĭ (>Serbo-Croatian pùdār one who guards a vineyard), derivative of *pǫditi to drive off, frighten; the Serbo-Croatian variant bàndūr (17th century) may result from crossing with Medieval Latin banderia or Italian bandiera troop, literally, banner

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How to use pandour in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pandour

pandour

/ (ˈpændʊə) /


noun
  1. one of an 18th-century force of Croatian soldiers in the Austrian service, notorious for their brutality

Origin of pandour

1
C18: via French from Hungarian pandur, from Croat: guard, probably from Medieval Latin banderius summoner, from bannum ban 1

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