soldiersoldier

Soldier comes from Old French soudier or soudeour, from Medieval Latin soldārius ‘one having pay’, from Late Latin solidus, a coin.

1. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsolidus¹‘solidus (a gold coin)’
2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500soldārius¹‘soldier (one having pay)’
3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400soudier¹‘mercenary, soldier’uncertain
4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500soudeour¹‘soldier’
5. Englishearliest quotation 1577soldier¹

1. ¹ Wiktionary, English soldier
2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1577, Raphaell Holinshed; Richarde Stanyhurst , Richard Stanihurst]: “The Citizens in their rage, imagining that euery poſt…”.