armatole

Meaning

Noun

• A Greek armed mercenary who enforced Ottoman rule in Greece from the 15th century onwards; during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1832), many armatoloi became pro-independence guerrilla fighters opposed to Ottoman rule.

Origin

• Borrowed from Greek αρματολός, alternative form of αρματόλογος, from άρματα (plural of άρμα, from Byzantine Greek ἄρμα, from Latin arma ("armour, defensive arms, shields, weapons of war"), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂(e)rmos ("fitting"), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ("to join")) + λόγος (from λόγος, from λέγω, from *leǵ-).
• The plural form armatoloi and possibly armatoli are from the Greek plural form αρματολοί.