the.com/combatant
Someone the laws of war admit they're allowed to shoot, and who's allowed to shoot back.
means A person actively taking part in fighting, recognized as a legitimate participant in armed conflict rather than a bystander.
from From French combattant, the present participle of combattre, 'to fight' — built from Latin cum ('together') plus battuere ('to beat, to strike'). That same battuere root gives English 'battle' and 'batter,' so a combatant is, at the word's core, simply someone caught up in the beating-together.
- legal status
- grants right to fight without being a murderer
- flip side
- also makes you a legal target
- key distinction
- civilians who fight lose special protections
- capture rule
- entitles holder to prisoner-of-war treatment