Word of the Day

: December 3, 2008

dragoon

verb druh-GOON

What It Means

1 : to subjugate or persecute by harsh use of troops

2 : to force into submission or compliance especially by violent measures

dragoon in Context

Boys of all ages were taken from their families and dragooned into fighting for the rebel armies.

Did You Know?

A dragoon was a mounted European infantryman of the 17th and 18th centuries armed with a firearm called by the same name. No arm-twisting should be needed to get you to believe that the firearm's name, which came to English from French, is derived from its semblance to a fire-breathing dragon when fired. History has recorded the dragonish nature of the dragoons who persecuted the French Protestants in the 17th century, during the reign of Louis XIV. The persecution by means of the dragoons led to the use of the word "dragoon" as a verb.