Footsoldier

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A common soldier who fights on foot in the infantry, the ordinary rank and file of an army ; a lowly member of an organization who carries out tasks for those above them
2. An enlisted man or woman serving in the infantry on foot, forming the bulk of any fighting force ; a minor operative or supporter who does the routine work for a larger group or criminal network
3. A regular infantryman marching and fighting on foot in an army ; a low-ranking follower or agent who executes the instructions of a bigger organization or movement

Etymology: A footsoldier is simply a soldier who fights on foot, and the word is a plain compound of "foot" and "soldier." The distinction it marks mattered most in an era when cavalry was the prestige arm of most armies, so the infantryman was the soldier who had no horse to carry him into battle. The compound describes the function rather than a rank or a specialised role. "Soldier" came into English from Old French "soudeour," ultimately from Latin "solidus," a gold coin, because mercenaries were paid in coin, and "foot" is the ordinary Old English word for the lower limb. Put together, the two parts name the person who marches and fights on the ground.