Definitions

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

  • noun A member of a robber band or gang in South Asia.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun etc. See dakoit, etc.

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

  • noun One of a class of robbers, in India and Burma (Myanmar), who act in gangs and are usually armed.

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

  • noun A member of an armed gang of bandits in India, Pakistan, and the surrounding region.

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

  • noun a member of an armed gang of robbers

Etymologies

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

[Hindi ḍakait.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Hindi  (ɖakait), from  (dākā, "gang-robbery"), from Sanskrit  (dashʈaka, "compressed")

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Examples

  • Lala Ram belonged to an upper, landowning caste, and within dacoit gangs, too, everything turned on caste.

    India's Bandit Queen 1996

  • Lala Ram belonged to an upper, landowning caste, and within dacoit gangs, too, everything turned on caste.

    India's Bandit Queen 1996

  • Without reading the article yet, I am reminded of the common use of the word dacoit (burglar, highway robber) in Northern India.

    Nigerian English: Yahoo-Yahoo boys, with cutlasses! 2008

  • Without reading the article yet, I am reminded of the common use of the word dacoit (burglar, highway robber) in Northern India.

    Nigerian English: Yahoo-Yahoo boys, with cutlasses! 2008

  • The dacoit was the one who took the man away; the handmaiden remained with her mistress.

    The Serpent's Shadow Lackey, Mercedes 2001

  • The dacoit was the one who took the man away; the handmaiden remained with her mistress.

    The Serpent's Shadow Lackey, Mercedes 2001

  • The dacoit was a pitiful sight, if Shivani were inclined to pity.

    The Serpent's Shadow Lackey, Mercedes 2001

  • The folks behind the project said workers at the hotel would check in guests, serve drinks and provide relaxing massages and other services while dressed as characters from the film, including the feared dacoit Gabbar.

    India Real Time Turns One 2011

  • A doctor cannot be taken as a dacoit just because he opens up the stomach of the patient.

    Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The Bhagavad Gita Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 2012

  • A doctor cannot be taken as a dacoit just because he opens up the stomach of the patient.

    Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The Bhagavad Gita Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 2012

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