sellsword

noun
/ˈsɛlˌsɔːd/UK/ˈsɛlˌsɔɹd/US

Etymology

From sell + sword. Compare hired gun.

  1. derived from *seh₂w-
  2. inherited from *swerdą
  3. inherited from *swerd
  4. inherited from sweord
  5. inherited from sword
  6. compounded as sellsword — “sell + sword

Definitions

  1. A mercenary.

    • One such warrior was Kothar, cast up by the sea in the northlands of his world, a sellsword and a mercenary, a wencher after the women of his day, a freebooter and a thief, at times, whose sword Frostfire was a magic sword.
    • Your profession always charges high and never guarantees their work. No sellsword would stay alive if he demanded a sorcerer's terms.
  2. Someone who only works for money, in the manner of a mercenary.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for sellsword. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA