Cavalerie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A specialized unit of soldiers who fight on horseback, often used for rapid movement and tactical advantage in warfare
2. An organized group of mounted troops typically utilized in battle, providing mobility and shock tactics on the battlefield
3. A military division consisting of cavalry forces trained for mounted combat and rapid deployment during conflicts

Etymology: The root is a humble animal. Classical Latin "caballus" meant a workhorse or pack horse, far from the proud warhorse the modern sense suggests. Late Latin turned it into "caballarius," a horseman, and Italian shaped that into "cavaliere," a rider of rank. French then formed "cavalerie" from this stem, meaning mounted soldiers as a body. English took the French form and kept its military sense of horsemen fighting together. The same stem also gave English "cavalier." That word first described a gentleman on horseback, and later came to mean offhand or disdainful, so the idea of the horse-riding gentleman carried over into a description of attitude.

Synonyms: cavalry, mounted troops, horsemen, dragoons

Antonyms: infantry, foot soldiers