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marauding

[ muh-raw-ding ]
/ məˈrɔ dɪŋ /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR marauding ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

engaged in raiding for plunder, especially roaming about and ravaging an area: marauding bands of outlaws.
undertaken for plunder: a marauding raid.

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RELATED WORDS

forage, ravage, despoil, harass, sack, foray, harry, raid, loot, ransack

Nearby words

marathon, battle of, marathoner, marathonian, maraud, marauder, marauding, maravedi, marañon's sign, marañón, maraş, marbelize

Origin of marauding

First recorded in 1745–55; maraud + -ing2

Definition for marauding (2 of 2)

maraud

[ muh-rawd ]
/ məˈrɔd /

verb (used without object)

to roam or go around in quest of plunder; make a raid for booty: Freebooters were marauding all across the territory.

verb (used with object)

to raid for plunder (often used passively): At the war's end the country had been marauded by returning bands of soldiers.

noun

Archaic. the act of marauding.

Origin of maraud

1705–15; < French marauder, derivative of maraud rogue, vagabond, Middle French, perhaps identical with dial. maraud tomcat, of expressive orig.
Related formsma·raud·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for marauding

British Dictionary definitions for marauding (1 of 2)

marauding

/ (məˈrɔːdɪŋ) /

adjective

wandering or raiding in search of plunder or victims

British Dictionary definitions for marauding (2 of 2)

maraud

/ (məˈrɔːd) /

verb

to wander or raid in search of plunder

noun

an archaic word for foray
Derived Formsmarauder, noun

Word Origin for maraud

C18: from French marauder to prowl, from maraud vagabond
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for marauding

maraud

v.

1690s, from French marauder (17c.), from Middle French maraud "rascal" (15c.), of unknown origin, perhaps from French dialectal maraud "tomcat," echoic of its cry. A word popularized in several languages during the Thirty Years War (cf. Spanish merodear, German marodiren "to maraud," marodebruder "straggler, deserter") by punning association with Count Mérode, imperialist general. Related: Marauded; marauding.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper