the.com/rifleman
The foot soldier whose entire job is pointing a rifle at problems until they stop.
means A soldier equipped and trained to fight with a rifle, usually as part of the basic infantry.
from A straightforward compound of 'rifle' (from the rifling, or spiral grooves, cut into a gun barrel to spin the bullet for accuracy) plus 'man.' The word rose alongside the weapon itself in the 18th century, when specialized rifle-armed units — prized for accurate, long-range fire — were split off from the smoothbore-musket masses and given this new job title to match their new gun.
- origin
- named for rifled barrels, not just any gun
- revolutionary role
- skirmishers who picked off officers from range
- napoleonic edge
- british 95th rifles wore green to hide, not strut
- modern meaning
- basic infantry rank, the squad's load-bearing human