Meaning

noun a member of a European military unit formerly composed of heavily armed cavalrymen

verb compel by coercion, threats, or crude means

verb subjugate by imposing troops

originThe noun is borrowed from French dragon (“dragon (mythological creature); type of cavalry soldier, dragoon”) (originally referring to a soldier armed with the firearm of the same name (noun sense 1.1)), ultimately from Latin dracō (“dragon; kind of serpent or snake”), from Ancient Greek δρᾰ́κων (drắkōn, “dragon; serpent”), possibly from δέρκομαι (dérkomai, “to see, see clearly (in the sense of…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0