A
rifleman (abbr. Rfn) is a
soldier in a
light infantry unit who carries a rifled firearm. Although the infantry role had its origin with 16th century hand gunners and 17th-century
musketeers and
streltsy, the term
rifleman originated in the 18th century. Entire
regiments and bodies of troops were armed with the weapon. It later became the term for the archetypal common
infantryman.