Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A robber or bandit, especially one of an outlaw band.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A sort of irregular foot-soldier.
  • noun A robber; a freebooter; a highwayman; especially, one of a gang of robbers living in secret retreats in mountains or forests.
  • noun Synonyms Bandit, etc. See robber.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete A light-armed, irregular foot soldier.
  • noun A lawless fellow who lives by plunder; one of a band of robbers; especially, one of a gang living in mountain retreats; a highwayman; a freebooter.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An outlaw or bandit.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an armed thief who is (usually) a member of a band

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English brigaunt, from Old French, from Old Italian brigante, skirmisher, from present participle of brigare, to fight; see brigade.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English circa 1400, from Old French brigand ("foot soldier") attested from 1421, from Latin brigō ("to fight").

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Examples

Comments

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  • also see brigandry

    April 11, 2009