Dragoon

(drah-goon'.) [Fr. dragon.] (Mil.) One ofa cla of horse-soldiers, first employed in the French service, and deriving their name from the short carbine they bore, called a dragon. In the more modern definition of the term, a D. is a soldier belonging to an arm of the cavalry service, termed heavy or light, according as they are armed and equipped; thus, heavy D. are of the cla of cuira iers, horse-guards, ., while light D. include lancers, hu ars, carabineers, . [s. 301]