infantry

noun

in·​fan·​try ˈin-fən-trē 

plural infantries

1

a

: soldiers trained, armed, and equipped to fight on foot

b

: a branch of an army composed of these soldiers

2

: an infantry regiment or division

Did you know?

The Italian word fante (from Latin infans, “infant, child”) originally meant “child,” later “youth, boy,” and then “servant.” In the 14th century, fante also took on the sense “foot soldier.” In Renaissance times, the fanteria, foot soldiers collectively, became a significant branch of arms, and the Italian word infanteria, was borrowed into English in the 1500s.

Examples of infantry in a Sentence

He joined the infantry after leaving school.

Recent Examples on the Web

There are now some 3,800 women serving in Army infantry, armor, artillery. —Tom Bowman, NPR, 24 Jan. 2025

Attacking with infantry rather than vehicles leverages a Russian asset—sheer manpower—but risks squandering that asset for the relatively modest territorial gains the Russians have registered in the last year. —David Axe, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025

What to Know In a statement, Sweden's armed forces said a ship carrying parts of its 71st mechanized infantry battalion from its South Skåne Regiment, arrived Saturday in Riga, escorted by the Swedish air force and Swedish and Latvian navies. —Justin Gest, Newsweek, 20 Jan. 2025

People like Robert Dixon, one of the last of the Army's Buffalo Soldiers, who left us at age 103; Jerome Gary Cooper, who was the first Black American to lead a Marine Corps infantry unit; and William Goines, who became the first Black Navy SEAL. —Lee Cowan, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French & Old Italian; Middle French infanterie, from Old Italian infanteria, from infante boy, foot soldier, from Latin infant-, infans

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

infantry

noun

in·​fan·​try ˈin-fən-trē 

plural infantries

: a branch of an army made up of soldiers trained, armed, and equipped to fight on foot

Etymology

from early French infanterie and early Italian infanteria, both meaning "infantry," from early Italian infante "infant, boy, foot soldier," from Latin infans "infant"

Word Origin

In the Middle Ages in France, a young soldier from a good family who was not yet a knight was called enfant, which means "child." Likewise, in Italy a soldier moving on foot behind a knight riding a horse was an infante. Later, Italian foot soldiers as a group became known as infanteria, which was borrowed into French as infanterie and into English as infantry.