Entry · catalog no. 3567
Buffalo Soldier
/ /ˈbʌfəloʊ ˈsoʊldʒər/ /BUF-uh-loh SOHL-jer
noun · Great Plains and Western United States · 1870s
✓ Verified
1.
A member of one of the Black US Army regiments created in 1866, who served on the Western frontier and in later wars.
“His great-grandfather was a Buffalo Soldier with the 10th Cavalry.”
2.
The title of Bob Marley and the Wailers' song honoring these soldiers and drawing a parallel to the African diaspora's fight for freedom.
“Marley's Buffalo Soldier made the name known worldwide.”
Origin & Attribution
Congress authorized the Black cavalry and infantry regiments in 1866, and the 10th Cavalry was organized at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The name is traditionally said to have been given by Native American adversaries, most often credited to the Cheyenne or Comanche, with the reason debated: the soldiers' dark, tightly curled hair resembling a buffalo's, or their fighting spirit. The record for the exact first use is thin, so the origin is given as the regiments and the Plains tradition, not a single coinage. Soldiers and later Black communities adopted the name with pride; Bob Marley and the Wailers' "Buffalo Soldier" (released 1983) carried it worldwide.
1866
Congress authorizes Black cavalry and infantry regiments; the 10th Cavalry is organized
1983
Bob Marley and the Wailers' 'Buffalo Soldier' released
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide
Great Plains and Western United States · 1870s
Spoken by
Black Army veterans and descendants; historians; Black and Caribbean communities
$BUFFALThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Enduring113 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
60/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1870
in the culture
Mainstream crossover
1983
search interest spikes
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@auntiereg
Atlanta, GA
@deltasoul
Memphis, TN
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
National Park Service, Buffalo Soldiers articles
web
■
Smithsonian NMAAHC, 'A Proud Legacy: Buffalo Soldiers'
web
■
Wikipedia, 'Buffalo Soldier'
web
■
+ Cite a sourceBob Marley and the Wailers, 'Buffalo Soldier,' 1983
song
See also