thug

thug
thug (n.) 1810, "member of a gang of murderers and robbers in India who strangled their victims," from Marathi thag, thak "cheat, swindler," Hindi thag, perhaps from Skt. sthaga-s "cunning, fraudulent," possibly from sthagayati " (he) covers, conceals," from PIE root * (s)teg- "cover" (see STEGOSAURUS (Cf. stegosaurus)). Transferred sense of "ruffian, cutthroat" first recorded 1839. The more correct Indian name is phanseegur, and the activity was described in English as far back as c.1665. Rigorously prosecuted by the British from 1831, they were driven from existence, but the process extended over the rest of the 19c.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Thug — may refer to: *A person, often a criminal, who treats others violently and roughly, especially for hire * Thug (in this usage written with an uppercase T) (from Hindi ठग ṭhag ), a member of the defunct Indian cult Thuggee *Thug, a gardening term… …   Wikipedia

  • Thug — (engl. „Verbrecher“, „Schläger“) bezeichnet: ein Mitglied der indischen kriminellen Geheimorganisation Thuggee den US amerikanischen Rapper Slim Thug eine Abkürzung in Versalien (THUG) einiger Videospiele der Videospielserie Tony Hawk’s… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • thug — thug; thug·gee; thug·gery; thug·gish; …   English syllables

  • thug — ● thug nom masculin Membre d une confrérie religieuse de l Inde, qui, en l honneur de la déesse Kali, se livrait au meurtre rituel par strangulation (XIIe XIXe s.). thug [tyg] n. m. et adj. ÉTYM. Mil. XIXe (in P. Larousse, 1876); angl. thug, 1810 …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Thug — (th[u^]g; 277), n. [Hind. thag a deceiver, robber.] 1. One of an association of robbers and murderers in India who practiced murder by stealthy approaches, and from religious motives. They have been nearly exterminated by the British government.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Thug —   [tag, englisch θʌg], indische Raubmörderkaste (seit dem 12. Jahrhundert bis etwa 1835). Die Thug verehrten die blutdürstige Göttin Kali …   Universal-Lexikon

  • thug —    (thug) [Hindi: rogue; cheat] A vicious ruffian, thief, or killer. Formerly, one of a confederacy of professional assassins in India who worshipped Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction.    the lads are chased into the outback by immigration… …   Dictionary of foreign words and phrases

  • thug — ► NOUN 1) a violent and uncouth man, especially a criminal. 2) (Thug) a member of a religious organization of robbers and assassins in India, suppressed by the British in the 1830s. DERIVATIVES thuggery noun thuggish adjective. ORIGIN Hindi,… …   English terms dictionary

  • thug — [thug] n. [Hindi ṭhag, swindler < Sans sthaga, a cheat, rogue, akin to sthagayati, (he) hides < IE base * (s)teg , to cover > THATCH] 1. [also T ] a member of a former group in India that murdered and robbed in the service of Kali 2. a… …   English World dictionary

  • thug — index assailant Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • thug — [θʌg] n [Date: 1800 1900; : Hindi; Origin: thag thief , from Sanskrit sthaga bad man ] a violent man ▪ He was beaten up by a gang of young thugs …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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