condottiere
/ˌkɑndəˈtjɛri/
noun
- A leader of a group of mercenary soldiers in Italy during the 14th–16th centuries.
- The museum displayed armor once worn by a famous condottiere.
- The condottiere commanded a band of hired soldiers for the city-state of Florence.
- In Renaissance Italy, a successful condottiere could become wealthy and powerful.
- A mercenary soldier; someone who fights for pay rather than for a cause.
- The novel's protagonist starts as a condottiere but later seeks a nobler purpose.
- He was little more than a condottiere, loyal only to the highest bidder.
- Some historians compare modern private military contractors to the condottieri of old.
Synonyms