French word

mousquetaire

Pronunciation

IPA/muskətɛʁ/

Meaning

  • masculine nounmusketeer

Example

Le mousquetaire porte une épée.

The musketeer carries a sword.

Illustration for mousquetaire (musketeer)

More examples

Les enfants jouent aux mousquetaires dans le parc.

The children are playing at being musketeers in the park.

Core concept

A historical foot soldier carrying a long firearm and wearing a sword at his side.

Similar words

soldat: A member of the military who takes part in fighting.
garde: A person responsible for guarding a place or another person.
officier: A ranked military officer who leads a unit and issues orders.

Definition in French

Soldat des XVIe et XVIIe siècles, équipé d'un mousquet et souvent d'une épée.

Word origin

Mousquetaire is formed from French mousquet with the agentive suffix -aire; mousquet comes through Spanish mosquete from Italian moschetto.

Usage tips

  • Mousquetaire is masculine, so the usual forms are un mousquetaire and une mousquetaire when referring to a woman.

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