Dictionary

crossbowsman en · NOUN

Etymology

From crossbow + -s- + -man.

Meanings

1. (alt-of, alternative) Alternative form of crossbowman.
   alt of crossbowman
   • Nuno had two thousand lances and crossbows on horseback, and five hundred infantry and foot crossbowsmen, and on the northern frontier the king had twice as many. 1898 July, C. J. Willdey, “The Constable Nun’Alvares”, in The Scottish Review, volume XXXII, Paisley; London: Alexander Gardner, […], page 46:
   • The palace, fenced with portcullises and spikes of iron, was guarded by archers and crossbowsmen, who shot at any that approached by night. 1925, David Graham, Common-Sense and the Muses, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, page 72:
   • Camron’s crossbowsmen would shoot him the instant he left Marcel’s house, and even if by some miracle they missed, the whole city would be after him by dark. 1997, J[ulie] V[ictoria] Jones, The Barbed Coil, Warner Books, →ISBN, page 83:
   • There were fraternities of archers, crossbowsmen, and, somewhat later, cannoneers and joueurs de trait à poudre (firearmsmen), all of which had statutes and held annual contests of skill at which the winner was given the title of roi or empereur. 1985, Robert Muchembled, translated by Lydia Cochrane, Popular Culture and Elite Culture in France, 1400–1750, Baton Rouge, La.; London: Louisiana State University Press, →ISBN, page 115:
   • Then we were invited inside, and found ourselves at a competitive shoot in the guild house of St. Joris, patron saint of kruisboogschutters, i. e., crossbowsmen. 1925 May, Melville Chater, “Through the Back Doors of Belgium: Artist and Author Paddle for Three Weeks Along 200 Miles of Low-Countries Canals in a Canadian Canoe”, in The National Geographic Magazine, page 518, column 2:
   • The counters represent appropriate kinds of arms for the time and change during the game to reflect the development of new arms (crossbowsmen are replaced by arquebusiers, for example). 1980, “Military History”, in Robert E. Horn, Anne Cleaves, editors, The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training, 4th edition, Beverly Hills, Calif.; London: SAGE Publications, published 1983, →ISBN, part II (Academic Listings), page 501, column 1:
   • Averland Crossbowsman 2006, Graham McNeill, The Empire, Games Workshop, →ISBN, page 84:
   • When shooting, the crossbowsman holds the stock like a rifle. 1975, Ronald C. Adams, Alfred N. Daniel, Lee Rullman, Games, Sports, and Exercises for the Physically Handicapped, 2nd edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lea & Febiger, →ISBN, page 178, column 2:

Forms