The word "honvéd" in Hungarian (sometimes "honved" in English sources) means "defender of the homeland" and first appeared during the 1848 revolutions. At that time it was the name given to volunteers who were engaged for several weeks or "a gyözelemig" (i.e. "until victory") and sent to fight the Serbs and Croats. Subsequently, the bulk of the fighting was against the Empire of Austria, whereupon a number of regular imperial regiments went over to the Hungarian side. Some volunteers were attached to these existing regiments and some joined new regular regiments. Consequently, the term "honvéd" was used to refer to all members of the Hungarian land forces in 1848-49. The Honvéd was finally defeated by Austria with Russian assistance.