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Hessian   /hˈɛʃən/   Listen
noun
Hessian  n.  
1.
A native or inhabitant of Hesse.
2.
A mercenary or venal person. (U. S.) Note: This use is a relic of the patriot hatred of the Hessian mercenaries who served with the British troops in the Revolutionary War.
3.
pl. See Hessian boots and cloth, under Hessian, a.



adjective
Hessian  adj.  Of or relating to Hesse, in Germany, or to the Hessians.
Hessian boots, or Hessians, boot of a kind worn in England, in the early part of the nineteenth century, tasseled in front.
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.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Hessian" Quotes from Famous Books



... mental culture upon her only child, but she racked her small brain to devise becoming costumes for Violet: the coloured stockings which harmonised best with each particular gown, the neat little buckled shoes, the fascinating Hessian boots. Nothing was too beautiful or too costly for Violet. She was the one thing her parents possessed in the world, and they lavished much love upon her; but it never occurred to Mr. and Mrs. Tempest, ...
— Vixen, Volume I. • M. E. Braddon

... as he fumbled his cap with his great, hairy hands. Sir Henry looked him over coldly with his quiet, keen eyes that cowed man and horse alike; then he turned to his companion, General Heister, Commander of the Hessian mercenaries, purchased by the British king and sent overseas to fight ...
— The New Land - Stories of Jews Who Had a Part in the Making of Our Country • Elma Ehrlich Levinger

... and pass out at the other door. Toussaint stood at the centre of the north end, beside a table partly covered with papers, and at which sat his secretary. On this table lay his cocked hat. His uniform was blue, with scarlet capo and cuffs, richly embroidered. He had white trousers, long Hessian boots, and, as usual, the Madras handkerchief on his head. While walking up the apartment, he had been conversing on business with his officers, and continued to do so, without the loss of a moment, till, on his ...
— The Hour and the Man - An Historical Romance • Harriet Martineau

... outstanding accession in the field of pharmaceutical history during Dr. Whitebread's years of service was the acquisition of the E. R. Squibb and Sons old apothecary shop. Most of the baroque fixtures, including the stained-glass windows with Hessian-Nassau coats of arms and wrought-iron frames, were part of the mid-18th-century cathedral pharmacy "Muenster Apotheke" in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. It was offered for sale in September 1930 by Dr. Jo Mayer of Wiesbaden, Germany, ...
— History of the Division of Medical Sciences • Sami Khalaf Hamarneh

... swords, the horse-pistol and old scythes of our fathers thought terribly at Lexington and Monmouth, at Saratoga and Eutaw Springs. The old Continental muskets thought out the whole Revolution. The English and Hessian arms were better and brighter than ours; but they were charged only with saltpetre. Our guns were loaded and rammed home with ideas. G. ...
— The American Union Speaker • John D. Philbrick


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