A native of India, employed as a soldier in the service of European powers.
Word of the Day: Catachrestical
A native of India employed as a soldier in the service of a European power, esp. of Great Britain; an Oriental soldier disciplined in the European manner.
Sepoy
Encyclopedia Britannica
SEPOY, the usual English spelling of sipáhí, the Persian and Urdú term for a soldier of any kind. The word sipáh, “army,” from which sipáhi, “soldier,” is derived, corresponds to the Zend çpádha, Old Persian çpáda, and has also found a home in the Turkish, Kurdish, and Pashto (Pushtu) languages (see Justi, Handbuch der Zendsprache, p. 303, 6), while its derivative is used in all Indian vernaculars, including Tamil and Burmese, to denote a native soldier, in contradistinction to gorá, “a fair-complexioned (European) soldier.” Towards the middle of the 18th century efforts were made by the East India Company to train natives of good caste, both Hindus and Mohammedans, for military service under the company. Though they were made to use the musket, they remained for some time chiefly armed in the fashion of the country, with sword and target; they wore the Indian dress—the turban, vest, and long drawers—and were provided with native officers under English superior command. Under their European leaders they were found to do good service and to face danger with constancy and firmness. In the progress of time a considerable change took place, and natives of every description were enrolled in the service. Though some corps that were almost entirely formed of the lowest classes achieved considerable reputation for valour in the field, it was not considered safe to encourage the system; and the company reverted to their practice of recruiting from none but the most respectable classes of native society. It is on record that a corps of 100 sepoys from Bombay and 400 from Tellicherry joined the army at Madras in 1747, that the regular sepoys at Madras were employed in the defence of Arcot (1751), and that a company of Bombay sepoys were present at the ...victory of Plassey.
For instances of the early occurrence of the word see Burnell and Yule’s Glossary of Anglo-Indian Terms, s.v. On the history of the sepoys compare Captain Williams’s Historical Account of the Rise and Progress of the Bengal Infantry (London, 1817); Captain Broome’s History of the Rise and Progress of the Bengal Army (Calcutta, 1850); Colonel Wilson’s History of the Madras Army (London, 1882-85, in 3 volumes); No. xxxvi. of the Quarterly Review ; and the military histories of India generally.
9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 21, p. 666
[391 words — estimated reading time: 3 minutes]
[391 words — estimated reading time: 3 minutes]
Combatant Roget’s Thesaurus §726
N. combatant, disputant, controversialist, polemic, litigant, belligerent, competitor, rival, corrival, fighter, assailant, champion, paladin, mosstrooper, swashbuckler fire eater, duelist, bully, bludgeon man, rough, prize fighter, pugilist, boxer, bruiser, the fancy, gladiator, athlete, wrestler, fighting-cock, game-cock, warrior, soldier, fighting man, amazon, man at arms, armigerent, campaigner, veteran, swordsman, sabreur, redcoat, military man, rajput, armed force, troops, soldiery, military forces, sabaoth, the army, standing army, regulars, the line, troops of the line, militia, yeomanry, volunteers, trainband, fencible, auxiliary, bersagliere, brave, garde-nationale, garde-royale, minuteman, auxiliary forces, reserve forces, reserves, posse comitatus, national guard, gendarme, beefeater, guards, guardsman, yeomen of the guard, life guards, household troops, janissary, myrmidon, mama, mameluke, spahee, spahi, cossack, croat, pandoz, irregular, guerilla, partisan, condottiere, franctireur, tirailleur, bashi-bazouk, vietminh, vietcong, shining path, contras, huk, hukbalahap, mercenary, soldier of fortune, hired gun, gunfighter, gunslinger, bushwhacker, free lance, companion, hessian, hit man, torpedo, soldier, levy, draught, landwehr, landsturm, conscript, recruit, cadet, raw levies, infantry, infantryman, private, private soldier, foot soldier, tommy atkins, rank and file, peon, trooper, sepoy, legionnaire, legionary, cannon fodder, food for powder, officer, subaltern, ensign, standard bearer, spearman, pikeman, spear bearer, halberdier, lancer, musketeer, carabineer, rifleman, jager, sharpshooter, yager, skirmisher, grenadier, fusileer, archer, bowman, horse and foot, horse soldier, cavalry, horse, artillery, horse artillery, light horse, voltigeur, uhlan, mounted rifles, dragoon, hussar, light dragoon, heavy dragoon, heavy, cuirassier, foot guards, horse guards, gunner, cannoneer, bombardier, artilleryman, matross, sapper, sapper and miner, engineer, light infantry, rifles, chasseur, zouave, military train, coolie, army, corps d'armee, host, division, battalia, column, wing, detachment, garrison, flying column, brigade, regiment, corps, battalion, sotnia, squadron, company, platoon, battery, subdivision, section, squad, piquet, picket, guard, rank, file, legion, phalanx, cohort, cloud of skirmishers, war horse, charger, destrier, marine, man-of-war's man, navy, wooden walls, naval forces, fleet, flotilla, armada, squadron, man-of-war, destroyer, submarine, minesweeper, torpedo- boat, torpedo-destroyer, patrol torpedo boat, pt boat, torpedo-catcher, war castle, h, m, s, battleship, battle wagon, dreadnought, line of battle ship, ship of the line, aircraft carrier, carrier, flattop, helicopter carrier, missile platform, missile boat, ironclad, turret ship, ram, monitor, floating battery, first-rate, frigate, sloop of war, corvette, gunboat, bomb vessel, flagship, guard ship, cruiser, armored cruiser, protected cruiser, privateer, tender, store ship, troop ship, transport, catamaran, merchant marine
No Bible verses found for "Sepoy".