condottiere

American  

[kawn-duh-tyair-ey, -tyair-ee, kawn-dawt-tye-re] / ˌkɔn dəˈtyɛər eɪ, -ˈtyɛər i, ˌkɔn dɔtˈtyɛ rɛ /

noun

plural

condottieri

1. a leader of a private band of mercenary soldiers in Italy, especially in the 14th and 15th centuries.

2. any mercenary; soldier of fortune.

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condottiere British  

/ ˌkɒndɒˈtjɛərɪ /

noun

1. a commander or soldier in a professional mercenary company in Europe from the 13th to the 16th centuries

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Etymology

Origin of condottiere

1785–95; < Italian, equivalent to condott ( o ) (< Latin conductus hired man, past participle of condūcere to conduce; see conduct) + -iere < Latin -ārius -ary

Example Sentences

They seem to have been led by the men of Caen under a Lombard condottiere called Le Grand Jacques, or as the English poem has it:— "Guaunte Jakys a werryour wyse."

From The Story of Rouen by Cook, Theodore Andrea, Sir

Seeing that Bonaparte was then known merely as an able condottiere, not as the re-organizer of French society, Pitt's haughty attitude, though deplorable, is intelligible.

From William Pitt and the Great War by Rose, John Holland

The earliest writers on the new tactics necessitated by villainous saltpetre were Italians trained in condottiere warfare.

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest

It is old Gattamelata, the condottiere of the Venetian forces in the long wars with Padua.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 20, September, 1877. by Various

The Condottieri.—The immediate result of this confused period of destruction and reconstruction was the condottiere, who becomes important about 1300.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various