Meanings
plural cannoneers · alternative cannonier
- governmentAn artillery soldier who maintains and operates (historical) a cannon, or (now) some other piece of heavy artillery.
Luckily, the cannoneer was only mildly injured when his cannon malfunctioned.
4 more examples
Then ſe the bringing of our ordinance / Along the trench into the battery, / VVhere vve vvil haue gabions of ſix foot broad / To ſaue our Cannoniers from muſket ſhot, […]
c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The Second Part […], 2nd edition, part 2, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene i, signature [G6], rectoThe Irish cannoneers stood gallantly to their pieces till they were cut down to a man.
1851, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XII, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume III, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 244Just as the spring came laughing through the strife / With all its gorgeous cheer; / In the bright April of historic life / Fell the great cannoneer.
1894 (date written), James R[yder] Randall, “John Pelham”, in H. M. Wharton, compiler, War Songs and Poems of the Southern Confederacy 1861–1865 […], Philadelphia, Pa.: International Publishing Co., published 1904, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 326The American cannoneers, normally positioned well behind the front lines, found themselves unexpectedly thrust into a firefight. The cannoneers slammed shell after shell at the big German tanks, but the 105mm high-explosive rounds burst with little effect.
2002, Mark J. Reardon, “The Lost Battalion”, in Victory at Mortain: Stopping Hitler’s Panzer Counteroffensive (Modern War Studies), Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas, →ISBN, page 156Synonyms: bombardier, cannoner, gunner
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn artillery soldier who maintains and operates (historical) a cannon, or (now) some other piece of heavy artillery.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Akkadian𒂵𒉡𒌑𒌝“reed”
- Ancient Greekκᾰ́ννᾰ“giant reed (Arundo donax)”
- Latincanna“cane; reed; something resembling a cane”
- Old Frenchcane“tube”
- Middle Frenchcannonier
- Frenchcanonnier
- Englishcannoneer
Borrowed from French canonnier, with the ending reshaped to English -eer (suffix forming agent nouns denoting people associated with, concerned with, or engaged in specified activities). Canonnier is derived from Middle French cannonier, canonnier, from canon (“cannon”) (from cane (from Old French cane (“tube”), from Latin canna (“cane; reed; something resembling a cane”), from Ancient Greek κᾰ́ννᾰ (kắnnă, “giant reed (Arundo donax)”), from Akkadian 𒂵𒉡𒌑𒌝 (qanûm, “reed”)) + -on (augmentative suffix)) + -ier (suffix denoting a profession). By surface analysis, cannon + -eer.
More words from French, Middle French, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans kanonnier
- kanonnierartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Arabic توپچي
- توپچيartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Bulgarian канонир, артилерист
- канонир (kanonir)artillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
- артилерист (artilerist)artillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
- топчия (topčija)artillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Chinese Mandarin 炮手
- 炮手 (pàoshǒu)artillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Czech kanonýr
- kanonýrartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Dutch kanonnier, busschieter
- kanonnierartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
- busschieterartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Esperanto kanonisto
- kanonistoartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Finnish tykkimies
- tykkimiesartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
French canonnier, cannonière
- canonnierartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
- cannonièreartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
German Kanonier
- Kanonierartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Hungarian tüzér
- tüzérartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Italian cannoniere
- cannoniereartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Korean 포수
- 포수 (posu)artillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Lithuanian kanonierius
- kanonieriusartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Malay ganar
- ganarartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Polish kanonier
- kanonierartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Portuguese artilheiro
- artilheiroartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Romanian tunar
- tunarartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Russian канони́р, артиллери́ст
- канони́р (kanonír)artillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
- артиллери́ст (artilleríst)artillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
- пушка́рь (puškárʹ)artillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Spanish artillero, cañonero
- artilleroartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
- cañoneroartillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Ukrainian каноні́р, артилери́ст
- каноні́р (kanonír)artillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
- артилери́ст (artylerýst)artillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
- гарма́ш (harmáš)artillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
- гарма́тник (harmátnyk)artillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Yiddish האַרמאַטניק
- האַרמאַטניק (harmatnik)artillery soldier who maintains and operates a cannon, or some other piece of heavy artillery
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with cannoneer
Anagrams
Cite this entry
cannoneer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cannoneer
“cannoneer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cannoneer. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cannoneer,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cannoneer.
Source: cannoneer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.