able-bodied young man; youth of conscription age
Historical term for a young man who has reached adulthood and is eligible for military conscription. Now rare outside historical contexts.
Before the war, upon turning twenty, young men underwent conscription examinations as able-bodied youths.
壮 (vigorous, robust) + 丁 (adult male). The term emerged in the context of Japan's modern conscription system (late 19th–early 20th century) to denote able-bodied males of draft age.