Mercenary - Definitions from Dictionary.com

9 results for: Mercenary

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

mer·ce·nar·y

Audio Help [mur-suh-ner-ee] Pronunciation Key adjective, noun, plural -nar·ies.

–adjective

1.	working or acting merely for money or other reward; venal.

2.	hired to serve in a foreign army, guerrilla organization, etc.

–noun

3.	a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.

4.	any hireling.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME mercenarie < L mercénnārius working for pay, hired worker, mercenary, perh., repr. earlier *mercéd(i)nārius, equiv. to *mercédin-, s. of *mercédō, a by-form of mercés, s. mercéd- payment, wage (akin to merx goods; cf. merchant) + -ārius -ary

]

—Related forms

mer·ce·nar·i·ly

Audio Help [mur-suh-nair-uh-lee, mur-suh-ner-] Pronunciation Key, adverb

mer·ce·nar·i·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. grasping, acquisitive, avaricious, covetous.

—Antonyms 1. altruistic, idealistic, unselfish.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Mercenary

To learn more about Mercenary visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mer·ce·nar·y Audio Help (mûr'sə-něr'ē) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Motivated solely by a desire for monetary or material gain.
Hired for service in a foreign army.

n. pl. mer·ce·nar·ies

One who serves or works merely for monetary gain; a hireling.
A professional soldier hired for service in a foreign army.

[Middle English mercenarie, a mercenary, from Old French mercenaire, from Latin mercēnnārius, from mercēs, wages, price.]

mer'ce·nar'i·ly adv., mer'ce·nar'i·ness n.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mercenary (n.)

c.1386, "one who works only for hire," from L. mercenarius "one who does anything for pay," lit. "hired, paid," from merces (gen. mercedis) "pay, reward, wages," from merx (see market). The adj. is recorded from 1532.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

mercenary
adjective
1.	marked by materialism [syn: materialistic]
2.	serving for wages in a foreign army; "mercenary killers"
3.	profit oriented; "a commercial book"; "preached a mercantile and militant patriotism"- John Buchan; "a mercenary enterprise"; "a moneymaking business" [syn: mercantile]
noun
1.	a person hired to fight for another country than their own

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mercenary [ˈməːsinəri] adjective

too strongly influenced by desire for money
Example: a mercenary attitude

Arabic:	مادّي، يَهُمُّه كَسْب المال
Chinese (Simplified):	贪财的, 唯利是图的
Chinese (Traditional):	貪財的, 唯利是圖的
Czech:	zištný
Danish:	beregnende
Dutch:	geldzuchtig
Estonian:	omakasupüüdlik
Finnish:	laskelmoiva
French:	intéressé
German:	gewinnsüchtig
Greek:	παραδόπιστος, συμφεροντολόγος
Hungarian:	kalmárszellemű
Icelandic:	mála-, málaliða-
Indonesian:	tamak
Italian:	mercenario, venale

Japanese:	金銭づくの
Korean:	물욕이 강한, 돈에 집착하는
Latvian:	mantkārīgs; naudaskārs
Lithuanian:	gobšus, savanaudiškas
Norwegian:	kremmeraktig, pengegrisk
Polish:	chciwy
Portuguese (Brazil):	mercenário
Portuguese (Portugal):	mercenário
Romanian:	mercantil
Russian:	корыстный
Slovak:	zištný
Slovenian:	koristoljuben
Spanish:	interesado
Swedish:	vinningslysten
Turkish:	paracı, para canlısı

mercenary [ˈməːsinəri] noun

a soldier from one country who hires his services to another country
Example: Mercenaries are fighting in Africa.

Arabic:	مُرْتَزِق
Chinese (Simplified):	外国雇佣兵
Chinese (Traditional):	外國僱傭兵
Czech:	žoldnéř
Danish:	lejesoldat
Dutch:	huursoldaat
Estonian:	palgasõdur
Finnish:	palkkasoturi
French:	mercenaire
German:	der Söldner
Greek:	μισθοφόρος
Hungarian:	zsoldos (katona)
Icelandic:	málaliði
Indonesian:	tentara bayaran
Italian:	mercenario

Japanese:	傭兵
Korean:	용병
Latvian:	algotņi
Lithuanian:	samdinys
Norwegian:	leiesoldat
Polish:	najemnik
Portuguese (Brazil):	mercenário
Portuguese (Portugal):	mercenário
Romanian:	mercenar
Russian:	наёмник
Slovak:	žoldnier
Slovenian:	najemnik
Spanish:	mercenario
Swedish:	legosoldat
Turkish:	paralı asker

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Mercenary

Mer`ce*na"ri*a\, n. [NL. See Mercenary.] (Zo["o]l.) The quahog.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Mercenary

Mer"ce*na*ry\, a. [OE. mercenarie, F. mercenaire, fr. L. mercenarius, fr. merces wages, reward. See Mercy.]

1. Acting for reward; serving for pay; paid; hired; hireling; venal; as, mercenary soldiers.

2. Hence: Moved by considerations of pay or profit; greedy of gain; sordid; selfish. --Shak.

For God forbid I should my papers blot With mercenary lines, with servile pen. --Daniel.

Syn: See Venal.

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mercenary

mercenary: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary

Browse Nearby Entries:

mercators projection
mercature
merce
merce cunningham
merced
merced river
mercedario
mercedes
mercedes-benz
mercenaria
mercenaria mercenaria

mercenarian
mercenaries
mercenaries'
mercenarily
mercenariness
mercenary
mercenary's
mercer
mercer island
mercer's
merceries

mercerise
mercerised
mercerization
mercerize
mercerized
mercerizer
mercerizes
mercerizing
mercers
mercers'
mercership

View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web