GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Hessian , a. Of or relating to Hesse, in Germany, or to the Hessians.
   1913 Webster
   Hessian boots, or Hessians, boot of a kind worn in England, in the early part of the nineteenth century, tasseled in front. Thackeray. -- Hessian cloth, or Hessians, a coarse hempen cloth for sacking. -- Hessian crucible. See under Crucible. -- Hessian fly (Zool.), a small dipterous fly or midge (Cecidomyia destructor). Its larvae live between the base of the lower leaves and the stalk of wheat, and are very destructive to young wheat; -- so called from the erroneous idea that it was brought into America by the Hessian troops, during the Revolution.
   1913 Webster
   
         
       

2.       
   Hessian, n.
   A native or inhabitant of Hesse.
   1913 Webster
   A mercenary or venal person. [U. S.]
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   ☞ This use is a relic of the patriot hatred of the Hessian mercenaries who served with the British troops in the Revolutionary War.
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   pl. See Hessian boots and cloth, under Hessian, a.
   1913 Webster