What is a cossacks?

Answer 1

A horseman soldier, often used by the Russian Csar as troops, during the late 18th - 20th century. The Zoporozhian Cossacks during the 16th - 18th century were considered "freeman" and fought for their independence from their neighbors inculding Russia, Poland, and Turkey.
The etymology of the word Cossack is as follows (from the Wikipedia entry on Cossacks): The name (Cossack) entered the English language via French Cosaque, which was a translation from the Polish, which was derived from the Ukrainian Kozak(In Russian Kazak). It is originally a Turkic word, qazaq, which means "adventurer" or "free man".

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cossack

Answer 2

A horseman soldier, often used by the Russian Csar as troops, during the late 18th - 20th century. The Zoporozhian Cossacks during the 16th - 18th century were considered "freeman" and fought for their independence from their neighbors inculding Russia, Poland, and Turkey.
The etymology of the word Cossack is as follows (from the Wikipedia entry on Cossacks): The name (Cossack) entered the English language via French Cosaque, which was a translation from the Polish, which was derived from the Ukrainian Kozak(In Russian Kazak). It is originally a Turkic word, qazaq, which means "adventurer" or "free man".

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cossack