soldiery
UK[ˈsəʊldʒəri]US[ˈsoʊldʒəri]
n
soldiers collectively; the military forces of a nation.
n
the profession or occupation of being a soldier; military service.
Morpheme Breakdown
soldier
y
soldier
y
Etymology
the word 'soldiery' is a compound formed from the noun 'soldier' and the noun-forming suffix '-y'. the term 'soldier' itself has a financial origin, deriving from old french souldeier, meaning 'one who serves for pay', based on soulde (a coin, pay). this reflects the historical transition from feudal levies to paid, professional fighting forces. the suffix '-y', of latin origin via french, is used to create nouns indicating a collective body or an abstract state. therefore, 'soldiery' logically evolved to mean either the collective body of paid fighters (the military forces) or the abstract condition or profession of being such a fighter.
Analysis
Structure: soldier + y
soldier: from middle english soudeour, old french souldeier, from soulde (pay). the functional role is the core noun denoting a person engaged in military service.
y: from middle english -ie, old french -ie, from latin -ia (abstract noun suffix). the functional role is a suffix forming collective or abstract nouns.
Examples
the discipline and training of the professional soldiery were crucial to the empire's defense.
he wrote a book detailing his life in the soldiery, from basic training to overseas deployment.
the government called upon the soldiery to assist in the disaster relief efforts.