the.com/mercenaries
soldiers who fight for whoever's paying, not whoever's right.
means a mercenary is a hired combatant who fights for money rather than national loyalty or cause.
from from latin mercenarius, meaning one who works for wages, itself from merces meaning pay or reward — the same root that gives us commerce and merchandise.
geneva conventiondefines them narrowly so most modern contractors technically dodge the label
ancient practicecarthage relied heavily on mercenary armies, including in the punic wars
renaissance italycondottieri were mercenary captains who literally contracted out warfare
modern rebrandprivate military contractor is the polite corporate synonym today