grognard

English

Etymology

From French grognard (“old soldier”)

Noun

grognard (plural grognards)

1. An old soldier.
2. (games, slang) Someone who enjoys playing board wargames, particularly the counter-heavy strategy board wargames from the 1970s and 1980s.
3. (games, slang) Someone who enjoys playing previous editions of roleplaying games when new editions of the game are available.
   • “James is such a grognard, he only plays the original edition of Dungeons and Dragons.”
4. (computer games, slang) Inside the computer game development industry, a game fan who will buy every game released in a certain genre of computer game (RTS, or computer role-playing game, etc.).

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French

Etymology

From grognard (“grumbler”), from grogner (“snarl, grunt, growl, grumble”) + -ard

Noun

grognard m (plural grognards)

1. an old veteran soldier; specifically of the grenadiers of the Imperial Guard (Grenadiers à Pied de la Garde Impériale); an old complaining soldier

References

• Napoleonic Glossary