Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One who wears a black coat: a common and familiar name for a clergyman, as redcoat is, in England, for a soldier.
- noun plural A name given to the German reiters, or mercenary troops, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, from their black armor and dress.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A clergyman; -- familiarly so called, as a soldier is sometimes called a
redcoat or abluecoat .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A member of the
clergy .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
-
The blackcoat, the parasite, the keeper of the laws,
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 159, 1920-11-17 Various 1898
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One of the ministers, after a mile's running, taking all creatures for his foes, meeting with a soldier, fell on his knees, who, knowing nothing of the matter, asked the blackcoat what he meant.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part E. From Charles I. to Cromwell David Hume 1743
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