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mercenary
- 5 dictionary resultsmer⋅ce⋅nar⋅y
[mur-suh-ner-ee] 
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 mercēnnārius working for pay, hired worker, mercenary, perh., repr. earlier *mercēd(i)nārius, equiv. to *mercēdin-, s. of *mercēdō, a by-form of mercēs, s. mercēd- payment, wage (akin to merx goods; cf. merchant ) + -ārius -ary
1350–1400; ME mercenarie < L mercēnnārius working for pay, hired worker, mercenary, perh., repr. earlier *mercēd(i)nārius, equiv. to *mercēdin-, s. of *mercēdō, a by-form of mercēs, s. mercēd- payment, wage (akin to merx goods; cf. merchant ) + -ārius -ary
Related forms:
mer⋅ce⋅nar⋅i⋅ly [mur-suh-nair-uh-lee, mur-suh-ner-] , adverb
[mur-suh-nair-uh-lee, mur-suh-ner-] , adverb mer⋅ce⋅nar⋅i⋅ness, noun
Synonyms:
1. grasping, acquisitive, avaricious, covetous.
1. grasping, acquisitive, avaricious, covetous.
Antonyms:
1. altruistic, idealistic, unselfish.
1. altruistic, idealistic, unselfish.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To mercenary
| mer·ce·nar·y (mûr'sə-něr'ē) adj.
[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. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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.Mercenary
Mer"ce*na*ry\, n.; pl. Mercenaries. One who is hired; a hireling; especially, a soldier hired into foreign service. --Milman.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : mercenary
Spanish:
interesado,
German:
gewinnsüchtig,
Japanese:
金銭づくの
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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