- the unbelievable history of words -
It was the 18th century and the British military was in serious need of additional recruits.
The heavy manpower drain caused by disease, desertion, not to mention actual combat, forced military leaders into taking men from the prison system.
The term "conscript" derived from the combination of the words convict and scripts the scraps of paper on which the convict made his signatory mark on being released to the military.
the end...