thug

Definition

A person who is a member of a gang or criminal organization.

Etymology

From Hindi ठग (ṭhag, “swindler, fraud, cheat”). Thuggee was a network of gangs in India from the 17th century to the 19th century who robbed and murdered travellers, often by strangling and beating their victims to death. During British Imperial rule of India, many Indian words passed into common English, and by 1810 thug referred to a member of these Indian gangs. The sense was adopted more generally as "ruffian, cutthroat, and cruel robber" by 1839. Related to English thatch, deck.

Example Sentences

• "They call you a land of license—free but to thug and thief."
• "Every summer brought the prospect of the dragonships snaking their way upriver, each vessel filled with thirty or more rapacious thugs."
• "I pushed up out of my chaise and headed for the miniten court. Leah handed me her thug as I walked past her."