soldier
UK[ˈsəʊldʒə(r)]US[ˈsoʊldʒər]
n
a person who serves in an army, especially a person who is not an officer.
v
to continue trying to do or achieve something that is difficult or unpleasant.
Etymology
the word 'soldier' entered english around 1300 from the old french 'soudier' or 'soldier', meaning 'one who serves in the army for pay'. this old french term derived from the medieval latin 'solidarius', a noun referring to a man who served in the military for pay, which itself came from the late latin 'solidus', a specific gold coin used to pay soldiers. the core logic traces back to the latin 'solidus', meaning 'solid' or a solid coin, directly linking the profession to the concept of being paid a wage or salary. over time, the meaning broadened from its mercenary origins to encompass any member of a national army, while the spelling and pronunciation gradually simplified from 'soudier' to the modern 'soldier'.
Analysis
the word is a simplex form. its spelling and pronunciation have evolved significantly from its roots, making a clean segmentation into meaningful substrings of the modern spelling ('soldier') impractical.
Examples
the young soldier saluted the general.
she had to soldier on through the exhausting project despite numerous setbacks.
he was a soldier in the british army for ten years.