Tirailleur
/ˌtɪr.aɪˈlɜːr/noun
A soldier serving in a light-infantry unit trained to fight in open order and skirmish.
Did you know?The term became especially associated with France’s colonial African infantry, including the famous Sénégalais tirailleurs, whose service was central to French wars from the nineteenth century onward.
Etymological Timeline
Late Latin / Medieval Romance
Vulgar Latin
*tirare
“To pull, draw, or shoot; the precise deeper origin is uncertain.”
10th–12th Century
Old French
tirer
“To pull, draw, extract, or shoot.”
15th Century
French
tirailleur
“A skirmisher—literally, one who shoots or draws fire while operating apart from the main formation.”
17th–18th Century
French
tirailleur
“A light-infantry soldier fighting in dispersed order ahead of the main body.”
19th Century
French
tirailleurs sénégalais
“Senegalese tirailleurs, colonial African troops recruited into the French army.”
Modern English
English
tirailleur
“A light-infantry or skirmishing soldier, especially one serving in a French colonial formation.”