bandit

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbændɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian bandito (“outlaw”),^[2][3][4][5] literally “proscribed”, the past participle of bandire “to proscribe, banish; announce publicly”,^[5][2][6] from Medieval Latin bannire (“to proclaim”),^[5][2] of Germanic origin,^[3][4] from Proto-Germanic *bannaną (“to proclaim, command; outlaw”).^[2] It is related to ban and banish.^[2][5][4] Early English forms were bandito (1591) and bandetto (1593), with the Italian plural banditti.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Someone outlawed or proscribed, and hence a lawless, desperate marauder or brigand (1593).^[7][2][5] Barnhart dates the form bandito to 1591, while Merriam-Webster gives 1611.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

A bandit was first literally a person put under a ban,^[7][5] and because such outlaws lived by plunder, usually in organized bands, the word came to mean a robber.^[7][2] Informal extensions include a cheat or swindler, and, in military slang from 1942, an enemy aircraft.^[7][3][6]

Timeline

• 1591 – bandito.^[5]
• 1593 – an outlaw; a marauder or brigand.^[7][5]
• 1611 – verb, to proscribe or outlaw (obsolete).^[7]
• 1706 – collectively, a company of bandits.^[7]
• 1942 – a hostile aircraft.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A robber, especially a member of a gang of marauders.
2. An outlaw.
3. Someone who cheats or takes unfair advantage of others.
4. (military) An enemy aircraft.

Word family

• banditry
• one-armed bandit

Related words

• ban
• banish
• banns

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press