Zouave
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 One of a body of soldiers in the French service, originally Kabyle, but now composed of Frenchmen who wear the Kabyle dress. historical
- 2 a French soldier in the Union army of the Unites States civil war, or a Union soldier in a French soldier's uniform. historical
"The French soldiers, for whom this uniform was patterned and made, were, as a rule, much smaller in stature than the American soldier, and hence the imported zouave uniforms distributed, in many cases, were entirely too short for the many giants in stature in the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment."
- 3 One of a body of soldiers who adopt the dress and drill of the Zouaves in French service, as was done by a number of volunteer regiments in the army of the United States in the Civil War (1861–65). broadly, historical
Example
More examples"The French soldiers, for whom this uniform was patterned and made, were, as a rule, much smaller in stature than the American soldier, and hence the imported zouave uniforms distributed, in many cases, were entirely too short for the many giants in stature in the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment."
Etymology
From French, from Arabic زَوَاوِيّ (zawāwiyy), used to refer to a Kabyle soldier, especially of the Igawawen people.
Borrowed from Arabic زَوَاوِيّ (zawāwiyy).
Related phrases
More for "zouave"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.