vivandière

American  

[vee-vahn-dyair, vee-vahn-dyer] / ˌvi vɑnˈdjɛər, vi vɑ̃ˈdjɛr /

noun

1. a woman who formerly followed an army or maintained a store on an army post to sell provisions to the soldiers.

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vivandière British  

/ vivɑ̃djɛr /

noun

1. (formerly) a female sutler or victualler offering extra provisions and spirits to soldiers, esp those of the French and British armies

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Etymology

Origin of vivandière

First recorded in 1845–50; from French vivandière, feminine of vivandier, from Italian (masculine) vivandiere “sutler”; see also viand ( def. ), -ier ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vivandière

Virginie brought down the house with her imitation of a vivandière, standing with her hand on her hip and a wineglass in her hand, which she emptied down her throat as she finished.

From L'Assommoir by Émile Zola

At Neuilly, a vivandière is wounded in the head; she turns back a moment to staunch the blood, then returns to her post of danger.

From Paris under the Commune The Seventy-Three Days of the Second Siege; with Numerous Illustrations, Sketches Taken on the Spot, and Portraits (from the Original Photographs) by John Leighton

The colonel shook me cordially by the hand and I was embraced by the robust vivandière, who struck me as being in the practice of sustaining life on a diet of garlic.

From Camps, Quarters, and Casual Places by Archibald Forbes

“But, monsieur,” she replied primly, “I am not the vivandière of the regiment.”

From The Rough Road by William John Locke

The scene of 'La Fille du Régiment' is laid in the Tyrol, where Tonio, a peasant, has had the good fortune to save the life of Marie, the vivandière of a French regiment.

From The Opera A Sketch of the Development of Opera. With full Descriptions of all Works in the Modern Repertory. by J. A. Fuller-Maitland