thug

English

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.

Pronunciation

• enPR: thŭg, IPA^(key): /θʌɡ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    Duration: 1 second.0:01

    (file)

• (India) IPA^(key): /ʈʰəɡ/
• Rhymes: -ʌɡ

Noun

thug (plural thugs)

1. A person who is affiliated with a criminal gang or engages in violent criminal activity.
2. (historical) One of a band of assassins formerly active in northern India who worshipped Kali and sacrificed their victims to her. synonym ▲

   Synonym: phansigar

3. (horticulture) An overvigorous plant that spreads and dominates the flowerbed.
4. A violent, aggressive, or truculent criminal. quotations ▼
   • 1915, Cale Young Rice, “My Country”, in Collected Plays and Poems, page 342:

     They call you a land of license—free but to thug and thief.

5. A wooden bat used in the game of miniten, fitting around the player's hand. quotations ▼
   • 2021, Anna Durand, Natural Satisfaction:

     I pushed up out of my chaise and headed for the miniten court. Leah handed me her thug as I walked past her.

6. (African-American Vernacular) One who, usually as a result of social disadvantage, has turned to committing crimes (e.g. selling drugs, robbery, assault, etc.) to make a living; a gangsta.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:villain

Derived terms

• rent-a-thug
• thugduggery
• thuggery
• thuggish
• thuggism
• thuggy
• thug it out
• thug life
• thuglike

show all 9 ▼

Translations

show ▼±someone who treats others violently or roughly

[Select preferred languages] [Clear all]

• Abkhaz: please add this translation if you can
• Afrikaans: rampokker (af)
• Albanian: rrugaç (sq)
• Arabic: بَلْطَجِيّ (ar) m (balṭajiyy)
• Armenian: ավազակ (hy) (avazak), մարդասպան (hy) (mardaspan)
• Avar: хъачагъ (qxačağ)
• Basque: gaizkile
• Belarusian: галаварэ́з m (halavaréz), разбо́йнік m (razbójnik), разбо́йніца f (razbójnica), банды́т m (bandýt), банды́тка f (bandýtka)
• Bengali: ঠগ (bn) (ṭhog), টেঁটন (ṭẽṭon)
• Bulgarian: главоре́з (bg) m (glavoréz), разбо́йник (bg) m (razbójnik), разбо́йничка f (razbójnička), разбо́йница f (razbójnica), банди́т (bg) m (bandít), банди́тка f (bandítka)
• Chechen: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 惡棍 / 恶棍 (zh) (ègùn), 暴徒 (zh) (bàotú), 歹徒 (zh) (dǎitú)

• Czech: bandita (cs) m, banditka f, gangster m, gangsterka f, hrdlořez m
• Dutch: schoelie, schurk (nl)
• Esperanto: bandito (eo), brutulo
• Finnish: kovanaama (fi)
• French: bandit (fr) m, voyou (fr) m, casseur (fr) m, racaille (fr) f, thug (fr) m or f, coupe-jarret (fr) m
• Georgian: ჩხუბისთავი (čxubistavi), ყაჩაღი (q̇ačaɣi)
• German: Schurke (de) m, Rowdy (de) m, Schläger (de) m, Randalierer (de) m
• Greek: κακοποιός (el) c (kakopoiós)
• Hebrew: בִּרְיוֹן (he) m (biryón), (flowerly) אִישׁ זְרוֹעַ m (ish zróa)
• Hindi: डाकू (hi) m (ḍākū), ठग (hi) m (ṭhag), टपोरी m (ṭaporī), मुस्टंडा (hi) m (musṭaṇḍā)
• Hungarian: orgyilkos (hu), bandita (hu), gengszter (hu), huligán (hu), zsivány (hu)
• Irish: maistín m, amhas m, bithiúnach m
• Italian: delinquente (it) m, teppista (it) m or f
• Japanese: 凶悪犯人 (きょうあくはんにん, kyōaku hannin), チンピラ (ja) (chinpira), 殺し屋 (ja) (ごろしや, goroshiya), サグ (ja) (sagu)
• Kannada: ಕೊಲೆಗಡುಕ (kn) (kolegaḍuka), ಕೊಲೆಗಾರ (kn) (kolegāra)
• Kazakh: баскесер (baskeser)
• Khmer: តិរច្ឆាន (km) (teracchaan), អ្នកលេងកាប់ចាក់ (nĕək leing kap cak), យូកូង (yuu koung), កាចកោង (kaac kaong)
• Korean: 폭력배(暴力輩) (ko) (pongnyeokbae)
• Lithuanian: banditas m
• Malagasy: jiolahy (mg), mpanendaka
• Mongolian: луйварчин (mn) (lujvarčin)
• Norman: poltron m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bølle m, kjeltring (no) m

• Occitan: sacamand (oc) m, bandit m, malfaràs m, gusàs m
• Ossetian: стъигъӕг (st’iǧæg)
• Persian: خلاف کار (xalâf kâr), اوباش (fa) (owbâš), اراذل (fa) (arâzel), گانگستر (fa) (gângester)
• Polish: zbir (pl) m, bandyta (pl) m, bandytka (pl) f, rzezimieszek (pl), zbój (pl) m
• Portuguese: bandido (pt) m, facínora (pt) m, malfeitor (pt) m, capanga (pt)
• Russian: головоре́з (ru) m (golovoréz), разбо́йник (ru) m (razbójnik), разбо́йница (ru) f (razbójnica), моло́дчик (ru) (molódčik), банди́т (ru) m (bandít), банди́тка (ru) f (bandítka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ра́збо̄јнӣк m, ра́збојница f

  Roman: rázbōjnīk (sh) m, rázbojnica (sh) f

• Slovak: hrdlorez m
• Slovene: razbojnik m, razbojnica f
• Sotho: tsotsi
• Spanish: matón m, macarra (es) m or f, rufián (es) m
• Swedish: gangster (sv) c, bandit (sv) c, skurk (sv) c, bov (sv) c
• Thai: นักเลงโต (th) (nák-leeng-dtoo), นักเลง (th) (nák-leeng)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: haydut (tr), eşkıya (tr)
• Tuvan: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: головорі́з m (holovoríz), розбі́йник m (rozbíjnyk), розбі́йниця f (rozbíjnycja), банди́т (uk) m (bandýt), банди́тка (uk) f (bandýtka), горлорі́з m (horloríz), по́кидьок (uk) m (pókydʹok), поки́дьок (uk) m (pokýdʹok)
• Urdu: ڈاکو m (ḍākū), ٹھگ (ur) m (ṭhag)
• Vietnamese: du côn (vi)
• Welsh: llabwst m, colbiwr m, thyg m
• Yiddish: שלעגער m (shleger), שלאַמער m (shlamer) (slang)

• Add translation : More

  masc.masc. dualmasc. pl.

  fem.fem. dualfem. pl.

  commoncommon dualcommon pl.

  neuterneuter dualneuter pl.

  singulardualplural

  imperfectiveperfective

  Noun class: Plural class:

  Transliteration: (e.g. zìmǔ for 字母)

  Literal translation:

  Raw page name: (e.g. 疲れる for 疲れた)

  Qualifier: (e.g. literally, formally, slang)

  Script code: (e.g. Cyrl for Cyrillic, Latn for Latin)
  

  Nesting: (e.g. Serbo-Croatian/Cyrillic)

show ▼±a member of the Thuggee band of assassins

[Select preferred languages] [Clear all]

• Bengali: ঠগ (bn) (ṭhog)
• Hindi: ठग (hi) m (ṭhag)
• Urdu: ٹھگ (ur) (ṭhag)
• Welsh: thygî m, llindagwriaeth f, llindagwr m

• Add translation : More

  masc.masc. dualmasc. pl.

  fem.fem. dualfem. pl.

  commoncommon dualcommon pl.

  neuterneuter dualneuter pl.

  singulardualplural

  imperfectiveperfective

  Noun class: Plural class:

  Transliteration: (e.g. zìmǔ for 字母)

  Literal translation:

  Raw page name: (e.g. 疲れる for 疲れた)

  Qualifier: (e.g. literally, formally, slang)

  Script code: (e.g. Cyrl for Cyrillic, Latn for Latin)
  

  Nesting: (e.g. Serbo-Croatian/Cyrillic)

a person who is affiliated with a criminal gang — see henchman

Verb

thug (third-person singular simple present thugs, present participle thugging, simple past and past participle thugged)

1. (informal, transitive) To commit acts of thuggery, to live the life of a thug, to menace, to commit crime. quotations ▼
   • 1854, My Ducats and My Daughter, volume II, page 247:

     Mr. Ingleby ascertained at the office—after threading the mazes of passage and staircase as though he expected momently to be Thugged—that his nephew had not yet come.

   • 1968, Harry Wellington Laidler, Boycotts and the Labor Struggle, page 302:

     The report then records the arrest of the whole force of the union paper, the Victor Record, the forced resignation of many other civil officers in the Cripple Creek district who were in sympathy with the miners, […] the severe thugging of many of the well-known labor organizers,

   • 1972, F. Maurice Speed, Film Review, page 219:

     C.C. and Company. Another story about the young American motor-cycle hoodlum gangs: raping, thugging and robbing their way along the roads.

2. (informal, transitive) (often with out) To appear as a thug; to dress and act in a manner reminiscent of a thug. quotations ▼
   • 2003 April, Dorian Missick, quotee, “Clothesline: Dorian Missick”, in Playboy Magazine, page 44:

     I don’t thug out, but I’m not Wall Street, either. Russell Simmons and Puffy have clothes for this look in the affordable range.

   • 2006, Katina King, Ride Wit’ Me, page 11:

     Oh. Besides Allen Iverson, basketball players don’t be thugged out enough for me. I like me a roughneck.

   • 2017, Todd Dedman, quoting research participant ‘Luke’, Purists and Peripherals: Hip-hop and Grime Subcultures, page 169:

     Well, I’d like to see more positive images of black men. Ones that don’t just go on about having a big dick, thugging and bashing on some girl.

Anagrams

• Guth

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English thug, from Hindi ठग (ṭhag).

Pronunciation

• (Belgium, France) IPA^(key): /tœɡ/
• (Quebec) IPA^(key): /tɔɡ/

• Audio:

  Duration: 1 second.0:01

  (file)

Noun

thug m or f (plural thugs)

1. (derogatory) thug, yob.

Irish

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /ˈhʊɡ/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈhʌɡ/

Verb

thug

1. analytic past indicative of tabhair

Scottish Gaelic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [huk]

Verb

thug (dependent tug)

1. past of thoir