Meanings
plural riflemen
- A soldier trained to use a rifle as a primary weapon.
The riflemen had not been issued their weapons yet, and hence they trained with wooden mock-up rifles.
1 more example
Anil Gurung joined the Army in 2006 as a rifleman with the 2nd Royal Gurkha Regiment.
2020 May 6, Paul Stephen, “Britain's bravest thinks big”, in Rail, page 62 - A small wrenlike insectivorous passerine bird endemic to New Zealand, Acanthisitta chloris, the titipounamu.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁reyp-
- Proto-Germanic*rīfaną
- Proto-Germanic*rīfilōną
- Proto-West Germanic*rīfilōn
- Frankish*rīffilōn
- Old Frenchrifler
- Middle Englishriflen
- Englishrifle
- Proto-Indo-European*mon-
- Proto-Germanic*mann-
- Proto-West Germanic*mann
- Old Englishmann
- Middle Englishman
- Englishrifleman
Translations
Basque fusilari
- fusilarisoldier
Bulgarian стрелец, снайперист
- стрелец (strelec)soldier
- снайперист (snajperist)person skilled in the use of a rifle
Catalan fuseller
- fusellersoldier
Finnish jääkäri, kiväärimies
- jääkärisoldier
- kiväärimiessoldier
- kivääriampujaperson skilled in the use of a rifle
- kiväärimiesperson skilled in the use of a rifle
- metsävilistäjäAcanthisitta chloris
French fusilier
- fusiliersoldier
Greek τυφεκιοφόρος
- τυφεκιοφόρος (tyfekiofóros)soldier
Hungarian lövész
- lövészperson skilled in the use of a rifle
Irish muscaedóir, fear raidhfil
- muscaedóirsoldier
- fear raidhfilsoldier
- fear raidhfilperson skilled in the use of a rifle
Italian bersagliere, fuciliere
- bersaglieresoldier
- fucilieresoldier
Latvian strēlnieks, strēlniece
- strēlniekssoldier
- strēlniecesoldier
Māori tītitipounamu
- tītitipounamuAcanthisitta chloris
Polish barglik
- barglikAcanthisitta chloris
Portuguese fuzileiro
- fuzileirosoldier
Russian стрелок
- стрелок (strelok)soldier
Spanish fusilero
- fusilerosoldier
Ukrainian стріле́ць
- стріле́ць (strilécʹ)soldier
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
rifleman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rifleman
“rifleman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rifleman. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rifleman,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rifleman.
Source: rifleman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.