hussar
[hoo-zahr]
- (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.
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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. 2018
Examples from the Web for hussar
Historical Examples
"There is a name greater than them all," cried the hussar with eagerness.
"Spooney, I should say," drawled out the hussar, caressing his moustache.
Roland CashelCharles James Lever
At last came number 82—'Maurice Tiernay, hussar of the Ninth.'
Maurice Tiernay Soldier of FortuneCharles James Lever
"I vote for your wearing that," said the hussar, quite smitten with her beauty.
Roland CashelCharles James Lever
Is not this meeting here—this strolling about a garden with a young gentleman, a Hussar!
BarringtonCharles James Lever
hussar
- 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
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for hussar
n.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper