LANSQUENET

Etymology

Noun

lansquenet (countable and uncountable, plural lansquenets)

(countable, historical) Any of a class of German mercenaries of the 15th and 16th centuries, most of whom were pikemen and foot soldiers.

(uncountable) A card game, used for gambling.

Source: Wiktionary

Lans"que*net, n. Etym: [F., fr. G. landsknecht a foot soldier, also a game of cards introduced by these foot soldiers; land country + knecht boy, servant. See Land, and Knight.]

1. A German foot soldier in foreign service in the 15th and 16th centuries; a soldier of fortune; -- a term used in France and Western Europe.

2. A game at cards, vulgarly called lambskinnet. [They play] their little game of lansquenet. Longfellow.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition