dragoon
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /dɹəˈɡuːn/
ipa: /dɹəˈɡun/
ipa: /dɹæ-/
rhymes: -uːn
Forms: form: dragoons
form: dragooning
form: dragooned
form: dragooned
Etymology: The noun is borrowed from French dragon (“dragon (mythological creature); type of cavalry soldier, dragoon”) (originally referring to a soldier armed with the firearm of the same name (sense 1.1)), ultimately from Latin dracō (“dragon; kind of serpent or snake”), from Ancient Greek δρᾰ́κων (drắkōn, “dragon; serpent”), possibly from δέρκομαι (dérkomai, “to see, see clearly (in the sense of something staring)”), from Proto-Indo-European *derḱ- (“to see”)). Doublet of Draco, dracone, and dragon.
The verb is either derived:
* from the noun; or
* from French dragonner (“to force (someone) into doing something, coerce; to torment (oneself)”), from dragon (noun) (see above) + -er (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs).
Senses: examples: text: She [Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné] appears to have exulted in the extirpation of protestantism in Provence, by the power of her son-in-law, count de Gregnan [i.e., François Adhémar de Monteil, Comte de Grignan]; she even speaks with levity of the sufferings of the huguenots, dragooned into the bosom of the true church.
ref: 1803, Mary Hays, “The Marchioness de Sevigne”, in Female Biography; or, Memoirs of Illustrious and Celebrated Women, of All Ages and Countries. […], volume VI, London: […] Richard Phillips, […] by Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, page 401:
text: This was the pious lady [Ninon de l’Enclos] who, in after times, expiated the faults of her youth by dragooning Huguenots into Catholics.
ref: 1845 June, “Art. V.—Lives of Men of Letters and Science who Flourished in the Time of George III. By Henry Lord Brougham. Knight and Co. [book review]”, in The Westminster Review, American edition, volume XLIII, number LXXXV, New York, N.Y.: Leonard Scott & Co., […], →OCLC, footnote *, page 191, column 1:
topics: Christianity
government
politics
glosses: To subject (a Huguenot) to the dragonnades (“a policy instituted by Louis XIV of France in 1681 to intimidate Protestant Huguenots to convert to Roman Catholicism by billeting dragoons (noun sense 1.2) in their homes to abuse them and destroy or steal their possessions”).
examples: text: In Politicks, I hear, you're ſtanch, / Directly bent againſt the French; / Deny to have your free-born Toe / Dragoon'd into a VVooden Shoe: […]
ref: 1689 May 24 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Mat[thew] Prior, “An Epistle to Fleetwood Shephard, Esq”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], published 1709, →OCLC, page 20:
text: The next step was that suggested by Mr. Townsend, of quartering large bodies of troops upon the chief towns in the colonies, and demanding of the several colonial legislatures, a provision for their comfortable support and accommodation. […] Their object was perfectly understood: it was to curb the just and honourable spirit of the people; to dragoon them into submission to the parliamentary claim of taxation, and reduce them to the condition of vassals, governed by the right of conquest.
ref: 1817, William Wirt, “Section III”, in Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry, Philadelphia, Pa.: James Webster, […]; William Brown, […], →OCLC, pages 78–79:
text: [A]t any rate, he had shown Hardy that he wasn't to be dragooned into doing or not doing any thing.
ref: 1859–1861, [Thomas Hughes], “The Storm Rages”, in Tom Brown at Oxford: […], part 1st, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, published 1861, →OCLC, page 258:
text: For months and months and from one end of the country to the other the whole official force has been engaged in pulling wires to dragoon the party into the renomination of the President.
ref: 1872 July 22, Carl Schurz, “Why anti-Grant and pro-Greeley”, in Frederic Bancroft, editor, Speeches, Correspondence and Political Papers of Carl Schurz […], volumes II (December 13, 1870 – February 27, 1874), New York, N.Y.; London: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons; The Knickerbocker Press, published 1913, page 405:
text: [T]he union leaders in Pennsylvania are trying to dragoon the most exalted personage in the nation [the President] into a wrangle with which he has no official connection whatever.
ref: 1906 May 4, “No presidential intervention this time”, in The Sun, volume LXXIII, number 246, New York, N.Y.: The Sun Printing and Publishing Association, →OCLC, page 6, column 3:
synonyms: compel
glosses: Chiefly followed by into: to force (someone) into doing something through harassment and intimidation; to coerce.
examples: text: He [Samuel Wilson] says, for example, that he is opposed to locking men up without trial, but he refrains from pledging himself to releasing the suspects. He says nothing about the necessity for dragooning the Irish for abolishing trial by jury.
ref: 1881 December 3, “The issues in Derry”, in The Pall Mall Gazette: An Evening Newspaper and Review, volume XXXIV, number 5233, London: […] Richard Lambert, […], →OCLC, page 1, column 1:
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: To cause (someone) to be attacked by dragoons.
Derived terms: word: dragoonable
word: dragoonage
word: dragooned
word: dragooner
word: dragooning
word: undragooned