noun
- a person connected with a military force in some capacity other than that of a fighter, as a surgeon or chaplain.
- a person who is not directly involved in combat; a civilian in wartime.
adjective
- not constituting, designed for, or engaged in combat.
noun
- a civilian in time of war
- a member of the armed forces whose duties do not include fighting, such as a chaplain or surgeon
n.also noncombatant, 1809, from non- + combatant. A word from the Napoleonic wars.