A medieval crossbowman or soldier trained to use the arbalest, especially one hired for military service.
From Old French arbalestrier, combining arbaleste (crossbow) with the occupational suffix -ier (similar to English -er or -man). This French form emphasizes professional military training.
Arbalestriers were often hired as mercenaries and traveled between kingdoms—they were part of a medieval military professional class that went wherever pay was best, not unlike modern military contractors!
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