brigand

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbɹɪɡ.ənd/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French brigand (“foot soldier”),^[2][3][4] from Italian brigante (“skirmisher, trooper”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from brigare “to fight”,^[2][3][4][5] from briga “strife”.^[5][6] Merriam-Webster takes briga to be of Celtic origin, akin to Old Irish bríg “strength”;^[5] Random House calls its origin uncertain.^[6] It is related to brigade.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A lightly armed, irregular foot soldier (about 1400).^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

In the Middle Ages there was little difference between mercenary soldiers and organized bands of armed criminals,^[4] so the word passed easily to a man who lives by plunder.^[4][7] The OED dates that sense to 1421, while Etymonline finds it already in the late 14th century.^[7][4] The soldier sense is now obsolete.^[7]

Timeline

• before 1387 – brigant.^[3]
• ?a1400 – a light-armed foot soldier.^[7][4]
• 1421 – one who lives by robbery, a bandit.^[7]
• 1886 – verb, to be attacked by brigands.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A robber or bandit, especially one of a band living in mountains or forests.

Word family

• brigandage
• brigandish

Related words

• brigandine
• brigade
• brigantine
• bandit

References

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