A cavalry soldier who wears a cuirass as part of their armor; especially a type of heavy-armored mounted soldier used in European armies from the 16th-18th centuries.
From French cuirassier, derived from cuirasse (cuirass) plus -ier (an agent noun suffix meaning 'one who'). The term became standardized for this specific military rank.
Cuirassiers were the 'tanks' of medieval warfare—heavily armored cavalry that charged into battle, and the term is so specific that it shows how specialized military roles became in European armies!
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