bandit English · revision 2390

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbændɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|bandito|t=outlaw]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) literally “proscribed”, the past participle of ''bandire'' “to proscribe, banish; announce publicly”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from [[la-med|bannire|t=to proclaim]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) of Germanic origin,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|gem-pro|*bannaną|t=to proclaim, command; outlaw]].^(Etymonline) It is related to ''ban'' and ''banish''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) Early English forms were ''bandito'' (1591) and ''bandetto'' (1593), with the Italian plural ''banditti''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Someone outlawed or proscribed, and hence a lawless, desperate marauder or brigand (1593).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Barnhart dates the form ''bandito'' to 1591, while Merriam-Webster gives 1611.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A bandit was first literally a person put under a ban,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) and because such outlaws lived by plunder, usually in organized bands, the word came to mean a robber.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Informal extensions include a cheat or swindler, and, in military slang from 1942, an enemy aircraft.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1591 – ''bandito''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1593 – an outlaw; a marauder or brigand.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1611 – verb, to proscribe or outlaw (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1706 – collectively, a company of bandits.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1942 – a hostile aircraft.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A robber, especially a member of a gang of marauders.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An outlaw.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Someone who cheats or takes unfair advantage of others.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(military)'' An enemy aircraft.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[banditry]]

+ * [[one-armed bandit]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ban]]

+ * [[banish]]

+ * [[banns]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}