Nearby Words
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.
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Unmercenary
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English mercenarie < Latin mercēnnārius working for pay, hired worker, mercenary, perhaps, representing earlier *mercēd(i)nārius, equivalent to *mercēdin-, stem of *mercēdō, a by-form of mercēs, stem mercēd- payment, wage (akin to merx goods; compare merchant) + -ārius -ary
1350–1400; Middle English mercenarie < Latin mercēnnārius working for pay, hired worker, mercenary, perhaps, representing earlier *mercēd(i)nārius, equivalent to *mercēdin-, stem of *mercēdō, a by-form of mercēs, stem mercēd- payment, wage (akin to merx goods; compare merchant) + -ārius -ary
Related forms
mer·ce·nar·i·ness, noun
non·mer·cen·ar·y, adjective, noun, plural -ar·ies.
un·mer·ce·nar·i·ly, adverb
un·mer·ce·nar·i·ness, noun
EXPANDun·mer·ce·nar·y, adjective
COLLAPSESynonyms
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. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To unmercenary
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
mercenary
late 14c., "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 1530s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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