Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Latin
Origin: mercenarius, from merces 'payment for work'; MERCY

mercenary

1 noun
     
Related topics: Army
mer‧ce‧na‧ry1 plural mercenaries [countable]
PMA a soldier who fights for any country or group that will pay him:
an army of foreign mercenaries
a mercenary soldier
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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