dacoit

English

Alternative forms

• dacoo, dakoit, dakoo, decoit

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindustani ڈکیت / डकैत (ḍakait), from ڈاکا (ḍākā) / डाका (ḍākā, “gang-robbery”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dəˈkɔɪt/
• Rhymes: -ɔɪt

Noun

dacoit (plural dacoits)

1. (chiefly India, Pakistan, Myanmar) A bandit or armed robber, especially in former parts of British India.
   • 1893, Bithia Mary Croker, "The Dâk Bungalow at Dakor" in "To Let" etc., Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1906, p. 118, [1]

     […] 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.

   • 1934, George Orwell, chapter 1, in Burmese Days‎^[2]:

     If any village failed in its tribute U Po Kyin took punitive measures—gangs of dacoits attacked the village, leading villagers were arrested on false charges, and so forth—and it was never long before the amount was paid up.

   • 1954 July 19, “The Terror of Kings”, in 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, published 2006, page 49:

     On the way back Boyles led him down a lampless lane, and sure enough, a pair of dacoits pounced on them.

   • 2004 October 20, Catherine Philp, “India's Bandit King is betrayed”, in 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”, in 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.

Derived terms

• dacoitage
• dacoity

Translations

bandit or armed robber in South Asia

• Burmese: ဓားပြ (my) (dha:pra.)
• Hindi: डाकू (hi) m (ḍākū), डकैत (hi) m (ḍakait)

Verb

dacoit (third-person singular simple present dacoits, present participle dacoiting, simple past and past participle dacoited)

1. (chiefly India) To commit armed robbery.

References

• “dacoit”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.