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mercenary |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Mercenary \Mer"ce*na*ry\, a. [OE. mercenarie, F. mercenaire fr L. mercenarius, fr merces wages, reward. See {Mercy}.] 1. Acting for reward; serving for pay paid; hired; hireling; venal; as mercenary soldiers. 2. Hence: Moved by considerations of pay or profit; greedy of gain; sordid; selfish. --Shak. For God forbid I should my papers blot With mercenary lines, with servile pen. --Daniel. Syn: See {Venal}. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Mercenary \Mer"ce*na*ry\, n.; pl {Mercenaries}. One who is hired; a hireling; especially, a soldier hired into foreign service. --Milman. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: mercenary adj 1: marked by materialism [syn: {materialistic}, {worldly-minded}] 2: used of soldiers hired by a foreign army [syn: {mercenary(a)}, {freelance(a)}] 3: profit oriented; "a commercial book"; "preached a mercantile and militant patriotism"- John Buchan; "a mercenary enterprise"; "a moneymaking business" [syn: {mercantile}, {moneymaking(a)}] n : a person hired to fight for another country than their own [syn: {soldier of fortune}]
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