Editing Dragoon (section)

{{Short description|Type of mounted soldiers}}
{{Distinguish|Dragon}}
{{About|mounted infantry units that later became cavalry|other uses|Dragoon (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
[[File:02 187 Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|Mounted Russian dragoon armed with an infantry [[long gun]], {{circa|1710}}]]

'''Dragoons''' were originally a class of [[mounted infantry]], who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional [[cavalry]] and trained for combat with swords and firearms from horseback.{{Sfn|Carman|1977|p=48}} While their use goes back to the late 16th century, dragoon regiments were established in most European armies during the 17th and early 18th centuries; they provided greater mobility than regular infantry but were far less expensive than cavalry.

The name reputedly derives from a type of [[firearm]], called a ''[[Dragon (firearm)|dragon]]'', which was a handgun version of a [[blunderbuss]], carried by dragoons of the [[French Army]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/57447?isAdvanced=false&result=1&rskey=synm9O& |title= Dragoon |website= Oxford English Dictionary |quote= A kind of carbine or musket.}}</ref><ref>"took his name from his weapon, a species of carbine or short musket called the dragon" ({{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Dragoon |volume=8 |page=471}})</ref>

The title has been retained in modern times by a number of [[armoured warfare|armoured]] or ceremonial mounted regiments.