Why is the infantry so named?

shawn888

The word comes from the same Latin root as 'infant', via Italian, where it referred to young men who accompanied knights on foot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infantry Jun 07 07, 9:41 PM

robboy

The word itself has roots in Latin, and later French and Spanish and probably the Italians weighed in with a definition for the foot soldier. Although derided and often looked down on as mere 'grunts', the foot soldier has been absolutely essential to any army for the messier, but necessary, elements of waging a successful war. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=infantry&searchmode=none Jun 07 07, 9:45 PM

gmackematix

Apparently, in Latin, the word "infans" meant a young child from the adjective "infans" meaning incapable of speech. In the Middle Ages, as "infante", the meaning of the word broadened upwards to include young men, including (as Shawn says) those who accompanied knights on foot. From the Italian plural of this, "infanteria", we get the word infantry. Well, according to the second to last entry on the following site, anyway... http://www.word-detective.com/041798.html Jun 10 07, 7:55 AM