[Fr. chasseur hunter:—OF. chaceor, -eür (It. cacciatore):—late L. type captiātōr-em: see CHASE v.]
1. A huntsman; a hunter.
1796. Scott, The Chase, Pref. note. Once, as a benighted Chasseur heard this infernal chase pass by.
1880. ‘Ouida,’ Moths, I. 154. Chasseurs in green and gold beat its woods.
2. A soldier equipped and trained for rapid movement; in the French army the designation of a body forming the élite of a battalion; later of a particular type of infantry and cavalry.
1796. Morse, Amer. Geog., I. 754. Another small corps of chasseurs.
1796. Stedman, Surinam, I. iv. 78, note. A corps of European chasseurs, or rifle-men … after the manner of the light infantry in England.
1822. Byron, Juan, VIII. xxxvii. He found a number of Chasseurs.
1848. W. K. Kelly, trans. L. Blanc’s Hist. Ten Y., I. 225. The vanguard was composed of chasseurs of the line, hussars, and lancers.
3. An attendant upon a person of rank or wealth, dressed in a military style. Cf. Ger. Jäger.
1824. W. Irving, T. Trav., I. 37 (Webster). Up and down the corridor walked the great chasseur who had announced her arrival.
1876. Geo. Eliot, Dan. Der., 468. A servant in chasseur’s livery entered.
