Etymologically
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gangster

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 07:05. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈɡæŋ.stəː/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English gang + -ster,[2][3][4][5][6] from gang in its criminal sense.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A member of a criminal gang: 1884, in the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette.[2][4] Etymonline dates this sense to 1896, in American English, and finds an earlier political sense, a member of a clique controlling a local government, by 1886.[3] Dictionary.com dates it 1895–1900, as an Americanism.[7]

Semantic evolution

The word came to mean especially a member of an organized crime ring, and in extended use anyone who uses violence or intimidation to further their ends, such as a racketeer.[2][4] From 1900 it was also used of a member of an urban street gang,[2] which later gave the form gangsta.[2] A rare use for a foreman or member of a gang of workers is recorded from 1913.[2] Gangsterism is recorded from 1918.[3] In Black American slang gangster has meant marijuana (from 1961), a troublemaker, a rebel or nonconformist and, as an adjective, something excellent; in prison slang the verb means to take by force.[8][9]

Timeline

  • 1884 – a member of a criminal gang.[2][4]
  • 1886 – a member of a political clique.[3]
  • 1900 – a member of an urban street gang.[2]
  • 1913 – a member of a gang of workers (rare).[2]
  • 1918 – gangsterism.[3]
  • 1961 – slang, marijuana.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A member of an organized gang of criminals, especially a violent one; a racketeer or mobster: The film follows a gangster in 1920s Chicago.[10][4][2]
  2. A member of an urban street gang.[2]
  3. (slang) Marijuana.[8][9]

Word family

  • gangsterdom
  • gangsterism
  • gangsterish
  • gangsta

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  9. ^ a b Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge
  10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins