Etymograph

English

fusilier

Fusilier comes from French fusilier ‘rifleman’, and goes back to Latin focus ‘fireplace’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfocus1‘fireplace’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400fuisil1
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentfusil2‘rifle, gun’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentfusilier2‘rifleman’
  5. Englishtodayfusilier2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, French fusil
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English fusilier

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfocusWiktionary, French fusil‘fireplace’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400fuisilWiktionary, French fusil
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentfusilWiktionary, English fusilier‘rifle, gun’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentfusilierWiktionary, English fusilier‘rifleman’
  5. EnglishtodayfusilierWiktionary, English fusilier

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to shine’

phone, professor, ben, famous, phase, favor, favourite, ban, fantasy, fate, fancy, fame, photographer, phenomenon, fatal, bee, fairy, abandon, emphasis, infant, profession, fabulous, confess, phantom, symphony, beacon, beck, boon, eff, fab, fay, bane, prophetic, epiphany, fable, banish, buoy, profess, bene, banal, 125 more

through Latin focus ‘fireplace’

focus, fuel, foyer, focaccia, 5 more

Today it means

noun An infantryman armed with a form of flintlock musket.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fusilier”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French fusil. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin focus / fusilier

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