Mercenary Definition

mûrsə-nĕrē
mercenaries
adjective
Working or done for payment only; motivated by a desire for money or other gain; venal; greedy.
Webster's New World
Designating a soldier serving for pay in a foreign army.
Webster's New World
noun
mercenaries
One who serves or works merely for monetary gain; a hireling.
American Heritage
A professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.
Webster's New World
A person who gives his or her allegiance to whoever will pay for it.
Webster's New World

A person employed to fight in an armed conflict who is not a member of the state or military group for which they are fighting and whose prime or sole motivation is private gain.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Mercenary

Noun

Singular:
mercenary
Plural:
mercenaries

Origin of Mercenary

  • Middle English mercenarie a mercenary from Old French mercenaire from Latin mercēnnārius from mercēs wages, price

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Latin mercÄ“nārius (“mercenary, hireling"), from merces (“reward, wages, price").

    From Wiktionary

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