thug

Pronunciation

• IPA: /θʌɡ/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Hindi ठग (ṭhag, “cheat, thief”),^[2][3][4] perhaps from Sanskrit स्थग (sthaga, “cunning, fraudulent”), from sthagayati “he conceals”.^[2][5] Etymonline also cites Marathi thag “cheat, swindler”.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first named a member of a gang of robbers and murderers in India who strangled their victims.^[5][6][3]

Semantic evolution

The transferred sense of a cutthroat or ruffian is recorded from 1839,^[5][6] after the British had been prosecuting the gangs since 1831.^[5] Today it means any brutal or violent person.^[2][4][1]

Timeline

• 1810 – a member of the Indian strangler gangs.^[5][6][3]
• 1837 – verb.^[6]
• 1839 – a cutthroat or ruffian.^[5][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A violent ruffian or criminal.
2. (historical) A member of a former band of professional robbers and murderers in India.

Word family

• thuggery
• thuggish

Related words

• thuggee

References

1. [1] [2] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. [1] [2] [3] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. [1] [2] [3] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. [1] [2] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
5. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press