Etymologically
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raid

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:58. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɹeɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is a Scottish and northern English form, inherited from Old English rād (“a riding, journey; expedition, raid”), the source of road,[2][3][4][5] cognate with Old Norse reið (“a riding, raid”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A military expedition on horseback, a hostile incursion: about 1425.[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

The word fell into obscurity after the 16th century, except for a place where ships may anchor (a roadstead),[2][7] and was revived by Sir Walter Scott in The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805) and Rob Roy (1818).[2][3] Any sudden or vigorous descent, as by the police, is by 1873,[3] and the air raid by 1908.[3][6] The verb, to take part in a raid, is from 1864–65,[3][2] and to make a raid on a place from 1880.[2] In Scots, a raid was also a ridiculous enterprise.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1425 – a mounted foray.[2][6]
  • 1805 – revived by Scott.[2]
  • 1864 – the verb.[3]
  • 1873 – a police raid.[3]
  • 1908 – an air raid.[3][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A sudden armed attack on an enemy, especially a brief one.
  2. A sudden visit by the police to search premises or arrest people.
  3. An attack to steal something: a bank raid.
  4. (finance) An attempt to buy enough shares to take control of a company.

Verb

  1. To make a raid on.
  2. To take things from a place without permission: raid the fridge.

Word family

  • raider
  • counterraid
  • unraided
  • air raid
  • panty raid

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)