veteran

Borrowed from Middle French vétéran, from Latin veterānus.

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛ.tə.ɹən/, /ˈvɛ.tɹən/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

  • (US) IPA^(key): [ˈvɛ.t̬ə.ɹən], [ˈvɛ.ɾə.ɹən]

veteran (plural veterans)

1. A person with long experience of a particular activity.

   Synonyms: old hand, warhorse

   • 2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:

     Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. […] Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.

2. (figurative) A group, animal, etc. with long experience of a particular activity.
   • 2018 April 1, Cristian Bonetto, Lonely Planet Pocket Copenhagen‎, →ISBN, page 81:

     The label has often collaborated with other designers, like Australian shoemaker Teva and American woolwear veteran Pendleton.

3. A person who has served in the armed forces, especially an old soldier who has seen long service; also called a war veteran to distinguish from veterans who weren't in armed conflict.

• veteran car
• Veterans Day

veteran (not comparable)

1. Having had long experience, practice, or service.
   • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 4, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volumes (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

     The insinuating eloquence and delicate flattery of veteran diplomatists and courtiers.

   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad‎:

     Nothing could be more business-like than the construction of the stout dams, and nothing more gently rural than the limpid lakes, with the grand old forest trees marshalled round their margins like a veteran army that had marched down to drink, only to be stricken motionless at the water’s edge.

   • 1980, Stephen King, The Mist:

     “That was in Casco,” his wife contradicted immediately. She spoke in the unmistakable tones of a veteran contradictor.

2. Of or relating to former members of the military armed forces, especially those who served during wartime.

• inveterate

• Neretva, Trevena, aventre, nervate, vernate

Borrowed from Latin veterānus (“old, veteran”), from vetus (“aged, ancient, old”).

• IPA^(key): /vetəraːn/, [vetˢəˈʁɑːˀn]

veteran c (singular definite veteranen, plural indefinite veteraner)

1. veteran

• “veteran” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “veteran” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

veteran

1. accusative singular of vetera

Borrowed from Latin veterānus.

veteran m (definite singular veteranen, indefinite plural veteraner, definite plural veteranene)

1. veteran

• “veteran” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Borrowed from Latin veterānus.

veteran m (definite singular veteranen, indefinite plural veteranar, definite plural veteranane)

1. veteran

• “veteran” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

veteran m (plural veteran)

1. veteran

Borrowed from French vétéran, Latin veterānus. Compare bătrân, a doublet inherited from the same source.

veteran m (plural veterani)

1. veteran (person who has served in the armed forces, or figuratively a person with a long experience of a particular activity; also used in the context of Ancient Rome, referring to a freed soldier granted citizenship and privileges for his service)

Borrowed from Latin veterānus.

• IPA^(key): /ʋetěraːn/
• Hyphenation: ve‧te‧ran

vetèrān m (Cyrillic spelling ветѐра̄н)

1. veteran

Borrowed from Latin veterānus.

• IPA^(key): /vɛtɛˈrɑːn/

veteran c

1. a veteran (former member of armed forces)
2. a veteran (person with long experience)

• veteranbil