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? asked in Politics & GovernmentMilitary · 1 decade ago

Why in the military are privates called privates?

To me private sounds like more of secret agent thing. Why is private used for the lowest rank in the military?

2 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    The Wikipedia Article is only partially correct. Not all soldiers of the lowest rank are called "privates" in the British Army. For example - a private in the Grenadier Guards is called a Guardsman - in the Irish Rangers, a Ranger - SAS, trooper - Duke of Lancaster's, a Kingsmen and so on and so forth.

    A private simply meant private soldier - ie a member of the Kings troops.

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