hussar

[hoo-zahr]

noun

(originally) one of a body of Hungarian light cavalry formed during the 15th century.

a member of a class of similar troops, usually with striking or flamboyant uniforms, in European armies.

Origin of hussar

1525–35; < Hungarian huszár < Serbo-Croatian hȕsār brigand, pirate < Medieval Latin cursārius corsair

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hussar

squadron, horse, army, lancers, bowlegs, dragoons

Examples from the Web for hussar

Historical Examples of hussar

"There is a name greater than them all," cried the hussar with eagerness.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 3, August, 1850.
Various
"Spooney, I should say," drawled out the hussar, caressing his moustache.
Roland Cashel
Charles James Lever
At last came number 82—'Maurice Tiernay, hussar of the Ninth.'
Maurice Tiernay Soldier of Fortune
Charles James Lever
"I vote for your wearing that," said the hussar, quite smitten with her beauty.
Roland Cashel
Charles James Lever
Is not this meeting here—this strolling about a garden with a young gentleman, a Hussar!
Barrington
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for hussar

hussar

noun

a member of any of various light cavalry regiments in European armies, renowned for their elegant dress
(pl; cap when part of a name)the Queen's own Hussars

a Hungarian horseman of the 15th century

Word Origin for hussar

C15: from Hungarian huszár hussar, formerly freebooter, from Old Serbian husar, from Old Italian corsaro corsair

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hussar

1530s, from German Husar, from Hungarian huszár "light horseman," originally "freebooter," from Old Serbian husar, variant of kursar "pirate," from Italian corsaro (see corsair). Bodies of light horsemen organized in Hungary late 15c., widely imitated elsewhere in Europe.