lansquenet Meaning, Definition & Usage

Lans"que*net noun

Etymology

F., fr. G. landsknecht a foot soldier, also a game of cards introduced by these foot soldiers; land country + knecht boy, servant. See Land, and Knight.

Definitions

1. A German foot soldier in foreign service in the 15th and 16th centuries; a soldier of fortune; -- a term used in France and Western Europe.
2. A game at cards, vulgarly called lambskinnet.

   [They play] their little game of lansquenet. Longfellow.