dragoon

[ druh-goon ]

noun

1. (especially formerly) a European cavalryman of a heavily armed troop.
2. a member of a military unit formerly composed of such cavalrymen, as in the British army.
3. (formerly) a mounted infantryman armed with a short musket.

verb (used with object)

1. to set dragoons or soldiers upon; persecute by armed force; oppress.
2. to force by oppressive measures; coerce:

   The authorities dragooned the peasants into leaving their farms.

dragoon

/ drəˈɡuːn /

noun

1. (originally) a mounted infantryman armed with a carbine
2. sometimes capital a domestic fancy pigeon
3. 1. a type of cavalryman
   2. ( pl; cap when part of a name )

      the Royal Dragoons

verb

1. to coerce; force

   he was dragooned into admitting it

2. to persecute by military force

Derived Forms

• draˈgoonage, noun

Other Words From

• dra·goonage noun
• undra·gooned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dragoon¹

1615–25; < French dragon, special use of dragon dragon, applied first to a pistol hammer (so named because of its shape), then to the firearm, then to the troops so armed

Word History and Origins

Origin of dragoon¹

C17: from French dragon (special use of dragon ), soldier armed with a carbine, perhaps suggesting that a carbine, like a dragon, breathed forth fire

Example Sentences

The soldiers of the Provence landings - dubbed Operation Dragoon - played a key role in capturing the key Mediterranean ports of Marseille and Toulon and increased pressure on Nazi forces by opening up a new front.

From BBC

The Princess of Wales has made her first visit to 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards after being appointed Colonel-in-Chief in August.

From BBC

He served in the British Army’s Royal Dragoon Guards and worked in advertising in the late 1950s before he started making documentaries and television commercials.

From New York Times

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that often they—or the graduate students they dragoon into doing the work for them—don’t always do the best job of review.

From Slate

But the latest effort to dragoon unwilling Ukrainian men to fight and kill other Ukrainians added a new element of terror to an already harsh existence under Russian rule in occupied Ukraine.

From New York Times

Related Words

• cause
• charge
• compel
• demand
• drag
• drive
• impose
• inflict
• limit
• make
• move
• oblige
• order
• press
• pressure
• require
• restrict
• urge