Dictionary

redcoat en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈɹɛdˌkoʊt/ (General-American)

Etymology

Bahuvrihi compound of red + coat.

Meanings

1. (historical) A British soldier (stemming from the military uniform of British infantry since the 17th century).
   • The street sounds to the soldiers’ tread, / And out we troop to see: / A single redcoat turns his head, / He turns and looks at me. 1896, A[lfred] E[dward] Housman, “[Poem] XXII”, in A Shropshire Lad, New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, The Bodley Head, published 1906, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 32:
   • He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon; / And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon, / When the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor, / A red-coat troop came marching— / Marching—marching— / King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door. 1906 August, Alfred Noyes, “The Highwayman”, in Poems, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., published October 1906, →OCLC, part 2, stanza I, pages 48–49:
2. A member of the entertainment staff at Butlin's holiday camps in the United Kingdom, who wear red blazers.
   • The series ran from 1980 until 1988, and won a BAFTA for Best Comedy Series in 1984. It was based on Perry’s experiences working as a Redcoat in Butlins. 2013 May 16, Mirror News:
3. (qualifier:kenning, slang) A fox.
   • Hurriedly he made his way around one end of the pond to the spot where he had first sighted the redcoat. 1947, Pennsylvania Game News, page 30:

Forms

Synonyms

lobsterback

Translations (6)

sh pandur (British soldier) · gd giomach (British soldier) · gd dearganach (British soldier) · gd saighdear-dearg (British soldier) · gd còta-ruadh (British soldier) · cs červenokabátníci (British soldier)

redcoat en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈɹɛdˌkoʊt/ (General-American)

Etymology

Bahuvrihi compound of red + coat.

Meanings

1. (intransitive, rare) To work as a redcoat (Butlin's entertainer).

Forms