This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Soldier is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
| Common military ranks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Officers | ||
| Navies1 | Armies and Air Forces |
Commonwealth Air Forces |
| Admiral of the Fleet |
Field Marshal | Marshal of the Air Force |
| Admiral | General | Air Marshal |
| Commodore | Brigadier | Air Commodore |
| Captain | Colonel | Group Captain |
| Commander | Lt. Colonel | Wing Commander |
| Lt. Commander | Major | Squadron Leader |
| Lieutenant | Captain | Flight Lieutenant |
| Sub-Lieutenant | Lieutenant | Flying Officer |
| Seamen, soldiers and airmen | ||
| Warrant Officer | Sergeant Major | Warrant Officer |
| Petty Officer | Sergeant | Sergeant |
| Leading Rate | Corporal | Corporal |
| Seaman | Private | Aircraftman |
| 1 in the English-speaking world | ||
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (August 2008) |
| Soldier | |
|---|---|
 German Army soldiers in Bosnia |
|
| Occupation | |
| Type | Profession |
| Activity sectors | Military |
| Description | |
| Competencies | Physical abilities, stamina, mindset |
| Fields of employment | Army |
| Related jobs | Commando, SWAT, policeman |
A soldier is a general English term that refers to a member of a land component of national armed forces. In most societies of the world, "soldier" is also a general term for any member of the land forces including commissioned or non-commissioned officers.
Contents |
Etymology
The word soldier is derived from an Old French word, itself a derivation of Solidarius, Latin for someone who served in the armed forces for pay, as opposed to warriors in tribal society where every grown man is automatically a member of his clan's fighting force. Solidare in Latin means "to pay"; Roman soldiers were paid in solidi, so-called because they were a new type of solid silver coin brought in after a reform of the Roman monetary system.
Non-English equivalents
The common Romance origin for the words soldier and payment survives not only in French as soldat and solde, but also in other languages, like German Soldat and Sold, Spanish soldado and sueldo, Portuguese soldado and soldo, Dutch soldaat and soldij, Italian "soldato" and "soldo", Arabic "Gondi" and "moganad" and many other languages.
In the Russian language the word soldier is also "солдат" ("soldat"), although it is not related to the Russian word for money, but was borrowed from German use. In some languages the word soldier is derived from different etymology, for example Estonian "sõdur" is derived from word "sõda," which means "war." And Finnish "sotilas" or "soturi", and "sota" meaning "war".
Occupational specialities
In most armed forces the word soldier has been mostly abandoned with increasing specialisation in military occupations that require different areas of knowledge and skill-sets, and have been replaced by names which reflect Arm, Service or Branch of individual's service, type of unit or operational employment or technical use such as: trooper, Commando, dragoon, infantryman, marine, paratrooper, ranger, sniper, engineer, sapper, or a gunner.
Other terms
In some English speaking countries soldiers serving in specific occupations are referred to by terms other than their occupational name. For example military police personnel are known as "redheads" from the colour of their berets, and in the United States Army, artillerymen are sometimes referred to as "redlegs," from the branch color for artillery. In the UK Artillery men are known as "drop shorts" due to their propensity for dropping rounds short of the intended target and usually with disasterous results onto their own sides infantry troops.
See also
External links
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 11 October 2008, at 11:27.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Soldier".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.