different between brigand vs dacoit

English

Etymology

From Middle English brigaunt, bregaund circa 1400, from Old French brigand (“foot soldier”) attested from 1421, from Italian briga (“trouble, bother”), perhaps ultimately of Proto-Germanic or Celtic origin.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?b???.?nd/

Noun

brigand (plural brigands)

1. An outlaw or bandit.

Related terms

• brigandage

Translations

Anagrams

• Brading, barding

French

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b?i.???/

Noun

brigand m (plural brigands)

1. (derogatory) thief

Adjective

brigand (feminine singular brigande, masculine plural brigands, feminine plural brigandes)

1. (Louisiana, Cajun French) mischievous

Further reading

• “brigand” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Old French

Noun

brigand m (oblique plural briganz or brigantz, nominative singular briganz or brigantz, nominative plural brigand)

1. foot soldier

Descendants

• ? English: brigand

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (brigand)

Romanian

Etymology

From French brigand.

Noun

brigand m (plural briganzi)

1. brigand

Declension

English

Alternative forms

• dakoit, decoit

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi ???? (?akait)/Urdu ????? (?akait), from ???? (??k?, “gang-robbery”)/Urdu ????? (??k?).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??k??t/
• Rhymes: -??t

Noun

dacoit (plural dacoits)

1. (chiefly India) A bandit or armed robber, especially in India, Pakistan, Myanmar, and the surrounding region.
   • 1893, Bithia Mary Croker, "The Dâk Bungalow at Dakor" in "To Let" etc., Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1906, p. 118, [1]

     […] she had harangued us on the subject of fever and cholera and bad water, had warned us solemnly against dacoits, and now she was hinting at ghosts.

   • 1954, July 19, "The Terror of Kings," Time:

     The history of northern India is studded with the names of notorious outlaw dacoits who roam the hills in the name of Kali, robbing the rich, comforting the poor, and in general spreading terror and rough justice.

   • 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin 2006, p. 49:

     On the way back Boyles led him down a lampless lane, and sure enough, a pair of dacoits pounced on them.

   • 2004, Oct. 20, Catherine Philp, "India's Bandit King is betrayed," The Times, London:

     “The notorious forest brigand, bandit, murderer and dacoit, Veerappan, along with his entire gang, has been shot dead,” Jayaram Jayalalithaa, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu State, announced.

   • 2007 April 21, "EDITORIAL: Pakistani Phoolan Devi’s short career," Daily Times, Pakistan:

     A very athletic female dacoit was arrested in North Nazimabad in Karachi after she vaulted over a nine-foot wall, following her unsuccessful attempt at armed robbery in the house of a retired banker.

Derived terms

• dacoitage
• dacoity

Translations

Verb

dacoit (third-person singular simple present dacoits, present participle dacoiting, simple past and past participle dacoited)

1. (chiefly India) To commit armed robbery.

References

• dacoit at OneLook Dictionary Search
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.