dacoit
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /dəˈkɔɪt/
Noun

dacoit (plural dacoits)

  1. (chiefly, India) A bandit or armed robber, especially in India, Pakistan, Myanmar, and the surrounding region.
    • 1893, Bithia Mary Croker, "The Dâk Bungalow at Dakor" in "To Let" etc., Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1906, p. 118,
      […] she had harangued us on the subject of fever and cholera and bad water, had warned us solemnly against dacoits, and now she was hinting at ghosts.
    • 1954, July 19, "[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,857479,00.html The Terror of Kings]," Time:
      The history of northern India is studded with the names of notorious outlaw dacoits who roam the hills in the name of Kali, robbing the rich, comforting the poor, and in general spreading terror and rough justice.
    • 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin 2006, p. 49:
      On the way back Boyles led him down a lampless lane, and sure enough, a pair of dacoits pounced on them.
    • 2004, Oct. 20, Catherine Philp, "India's Bandit King is betrayed ↗," The Times, London:
      “The notorious forest brigand, bandit, murderer and dacoit, Veerappan, along with his entire gang, has been shot dead,” Jayaram Jayalalithaa, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu State, announced.
    • 2007 April 21, "EDITORIAL: Pakistani Phoolan Devi’s short career ↗," Daily Times, Pakistan:
      A very athletic female dacoit was arrested in North Nazimabad in Karachi after she vaulted over a nine-foot wall, following her unsuccessful attempt at armed robbery in the house of a retired banker.
Verb

dacoit (dacoits, present participle dacoiting; past and past participle dacoited)

  1. (chiefly, India) To commit armed robbery.



This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.004
Offline English dictionary