Soldateska
German
Etymology
17th century, from Italian soldatesca. Doublet of soldatisch, which has quite the opposite sense of “soldierly”.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /zɔl.daˈtɛs.ka/
Noun
Soldateska f (genitive Soldateska, plural (rare) Soldatesken)
- (obsolete) soldiers collectively, army
- (derogatory) a band of marauding, unscrupulous soldiers
- (by abstraction) the mentality of such soldiers, the marauding and war crimes themselves