Montagnard

American  

[mon-tuhn-yahrd, -yahr] / ˌmɒn tənˈyɑrd, -ˈyɑr /

noun

plural

Montagnards,

plural

Montagnard

1. (sometimes lowercase) a member of a dark-skinned people of mixed ethnic origins inhabiting the highland areas of Vietnam.

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Montagnard British  

/ -ˈjɑː, ˌmɒntənˈjɑːd /

noun

1. a member of a hill people living on the border between Vietnam, Laos, and NE Cambodia

2. a member of a North American Indian people living in the N Rocky Mountains

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Etymology

Origin of Montagnard

1835–45; < French: literally, mountaineer. See mountain, -ard

Example Sentences

Earlier in the year Thailand also sent a Vietnamese Montagnard activist back to Vietnam.

From BBC • Jan. 8, 2025

The three Green Berets and nine Montagnard tribesmen ended up at the doorstep of a large enemy headquarters, which may have held hundreds of soldiers.

From Washington Post • Nov. 11, 2020

Or civilian and official Mike Benge, from Heppner, Ore., an expert on Montagnard affairs, who disappeared into Viet Cong captivity in the Central Highlands.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 29, 2018

“America has forgotten about us,” said Rev. Y Hin Nie, of the United Montagnard Christian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, a state that’s home to the world’s largest Montagnard population outside Vietnam.

From Salon • Nov. 29, 2015

Maybe up in one of the high mountain villes, maybe with the Montagnard tribes.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien