[a. Fr. fantassin, ad. It. fantaccino, dim. of fante foot-soldier.] (See quot. 1835.)
1835. Lytton, Rienzi, IX. i. Two hundred fantassins, or fool-soldiers, of Tuscany.
1853. Tait’s Mag., XX. 534. Fierce Isolani’s fantassins.
1860. Russell, Diary India, II. xiii. 253. There were quaint fantassins with matchlock, musket, tulwar, and bow.
