brigand
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of brigand
1350–1400; variant of Middle English briga ( u ) nt < Middle French brigand < Old Italian brigante companion, member of an armed company, equivalent to brig ( are ) to treat, deal (with), make war (derivative of briga trouble, strife; of uncertain origin) + -ante -ant
Explanation
A brigand is a bad guy, especially one who belongs to a band of armed robbers. Railway travel used to be dangerous in the days when brigands frequently robbed passing trains. In the earliest years of the United States, travelers to the most sparsely inhabited parts of the country were vulnerable to highway robbers and brigands, groups of armed thieves who would stop stagecoaches and steal from those inside. The earliest kind of brigand wasn't an outlaw, however — he was a foot soldier in a legitimate army, from the Italian brigante, "trooper, skirmisher, or foot soldier." Brigand shares a root with brigade.
Vocabulary lists containing brigand
The Joy Luck Club
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The Shakespeare Stealer
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 6
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He’s both the handsome and heroic Jamie Lockhart and, his face stained with berry juice, he’s a dashing but dastardly brigand.
From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2016
This brigand may not be as wily as he thinks he is, but Leone loved him enough to let him survive the famous shootout and still be hanging around, so to speak, at the end.
From Time ● Jun. 25, 2014
She had been collected by some brigand or another for a friend of mine, who said she couldn't have her in the house.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 3, 2010
When he was but a baby brigand in the employ of the University of Pittsburgh, Calipari's recruiting tactics very nearly incited a general hooley at the Big East's annual meeting.
From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2010
“I’m not a brigand or a devil. I’m a Benedictine brother. A monk.”
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
