pikeman

P3I1K5E1M3A1N1
/ˈpaɪk.mən/

noun

A soldier armed with a pike.

RareScrabble 15

Meanings

nounpikeman (plural pikemen)

plural pikemen

  1. A soldier armed with a pike.

    Vitellius comming on couragiouſly with his pikemen and his harquebuſiers , deuided into two wings, charged them fiercely

    1603, Richard Knolles, The Generall Historie of the Turkes, […], London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC
  2. A person who operates a turnpike.
    1 more example

    Then there was the music of the rattling harness, and the ring of the horses' feet on the hard road, and the glare of the two bright lamps through the steaming hoar frost, over the leaders' ears, into the darkness; and the cheery toot of the guard's horn, to warn some drowsy pikeman or the ostler at the next change ; and the looking forward to daylight — and last but not least, the delight of returning sensation in your toes.

    1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days
  3. A miner who works with a pick.

    “My missus told it me at the pit-head, when she brought me my breakfast,” said a pikeman to his comrade, and he struck a vigorous blow at the broad seam on which he was working.

    1845, Benjamin Disraeli, Sybil, or The Two Nations, book 6

Origin

From pike + -man. Compare the Middle English surname Pykeman.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian копиеносец
  • копиеносец (kopienosec)soldier
Catalan piquer
  • piquersoldier
Chinese Mandarin 槍手 /枪手
  • 槍手 /枪手 (qiāngshǒu)soldier
Czech pikenýr
  • pikenýrsoldier
Dutch piekdrager
  • piekdragersoldier
Finnish peitsimies
  • peitsimiessoldier
French piquier
  • piquiersoldier
German Pikenier
  • Pikeniersoldier
Italian picchiere
  • picchieresoldier
Portuguese piqueiro
  • piqueirosoldier
Spanish piquero
  • piquerosoldier
Swedish pikenerare
  • pikeneraresoldier
Turkish mızraklı, mızrakçı
  • mızraklısoldier
  • mızrakçısoldier

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

pikeman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pikeman

MLA

“pikeman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pikeman. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pikeman,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pikeman.

Source: pikeman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.