skirmishern.
/ˈskəːmɪʃə/ a. One of a number of soldiers taking part in a skirmish or acting in loose order apart from the main body of an army or battalion.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > soldier with special duty > [noun] > skirmisher
courier1523
skirmisher1565
straggler1589
bickerer1611
tirailleur1796
voltigeur1805
Bashi-Bazouk1855
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Excursor, a skirmishar.
1579 L. Digges & T. Digges Stratioticos 156 That his Skirmishers and light armed be beaten in.
1627 H. Peacham Compl. Gentleman (rev. ed.) xvi*. 227 If this bee exactly done the skirmishers will neuer be aboue the length of one fyle behynde the bodye of your pykes.
1799 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry (ed. 3) 354 Skirmishers are to be very attentive..in instantly obeying the signals made for their direction.
1848 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 III. v. 199 A detachment of whom..were employed as skirmishers and marksmen.
1875 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea V. ii. 382 Our skirmishers gained the edge of the bank.
b. transferred and figurative. Something sent out in advance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > antecedence or being earlier > [noun] > antecedent or precursor
forerunnerOE
forridelc1000
messengerc1300
precursora1500
waymaker1574
postiliona1586
ushera1586
precedence1598
vaunt-courier1598
precedent1599
prodromus1602
ante-disposition1611
precedency1611
prodrome1611
antecedent1612
antedating1633
leading card1635
prodromy1647
antecessor1657
precursorya1660
prodromist1716
morning star1721
skirmisher1820
antecursor1850
1820 W. Scott Monastery I. Introd. Ep. 2 As you usually throw out a few lines of verse (by way of skirmishers, I suppose) at the head of each division of prose.
1890 Pall Mall Gaz. 18 Jan. 1/3 We have four advertising cars, which go one, two, three and four weeks ahead. These we call ‘skirmishers’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
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n.1565