BANDE NOIRE
\bˈand nwˈɑː], \bˈand nwˈɑː], \b_ˈa_n_d n_w_ˈɑː]\
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[Fr.] German foot-soldiers, part of the Grand Companies employed by Louis XII. in his Italian wars: they carried a black ensign when a favourite general died. The name was similarly borne by other soldiers, both French and Italians; it was given also, in the first French Revolution, to some societies which bought confiscated property of the Church, of emigrants, etc.
By Henry Percy Smith
