landsknecht

[ German lahnts-knekht ]

/ German ˈlɑntsˌknɛxt /

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noun

a European mercenary foot soldier of the 16th century, armed with a pike or halberd.

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Also lansquenet.

Origin of landsknecht

From German; see origin at land, 's¹, knight

Words nearby landsknecht

Land's End, landshark, Landshut, landside, landskip, landsknecht, landslide, Landsmål, landsman, landsmanshaft, land snail

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use landsknecht in a sentence

They represent the first germs of the "Landsknecht" profession, the shame and curse of the Germans.
The Origin of the Family Private Property and the State|Frederick Engels
Guinegate was the dbut of the Landsknecht infantry as Nancy was that of the Swiss, and the lesson could not be misread.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 5|Various
In the 15th and 16th centuries the infantry soldiers (Swiss or landsknecht) carried a heavy poniard or dagger.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8|Various
The Landsknecht infantry constituted the mainstay of the imperial armies in the 16th century.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6|Various

This name is derived from the German 'landsknecht' ('valet of the fief'), applied to a mercenary soldier.
The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims|Andrew Steinmetz

British Dictionary definitions for landsknecht

landsknecht

/ (ˈlæntskəˌnɛkt) /

noun

a mercenary foot soldier in late 15th-, 16th-, and 17th-century Europe, esp a German pikeman

Word Origin for landsknecht

German, literally: landknight

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