Jäger (infantry)

Jäger (singular [der] Jäger, plural [die] Jäger, German pronun­cia­tion: [ˈjɛːɡɐ]) is a German military term that originally referred to light infantry, but has come to have wider usage.

While it may be literally translated as "hunter", in German-speaking states during the early modern era, the term Jäger was used to describe skirmishers, scouts, sharpshooters and runners.Jäger came to denote light infantrymen whose civilian occupations made them well-suited to patrolling and skirmishing, on an individual and independent basis, rather than as part of military unit.

While Jäger often continued to carry its original connotations, the word's usage and derivatives broadened over time. For instance, Feldjäger was the name given by the Prussian Army to scouts and runners. During the 20th century, Jäger became the German word for fighter aircraft, while Panzerjäger was the name adopted for tank destroyers. Conversely, in the modern German army (Bundeswehr), Feldjäger is the name given to military police.

Jäger, in its original sense of light infantry, is usually translated into English as:

In English Jäger is often written as jaeger (both pl. and sgl.) or anglicised as jager (pl. jagers) to avoid the umlaut.

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