noun
- soldiers or militia members who are enlisted for home defense only and are not required to serve abroad
Usage: historical; chiefly British; plural form; singular is fencible
Examples
- The fencibles were called upon to defend the coast during the Napoleonic Wars.
- Unlike regular soldiers, the fencibles could not be deployed to foreign territories.
- Many fencibles were drawn from the local population and trained part-time.
- The British government relied on fencibles to maintain domestic security while the main army fought overseas.