thuggee

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi ठगी / Urdu ٿهگی‎ (ṭhagī).

Pronunciation
  • (UK) IPA(key): /θʌˈɡiː/
  • (India) IPA(key): /ʈʰʌ.ɡiː/, /ʈʰɑ.ɡiː/

Noun

thuggee (countable and uncountable, plural thuggees)

  1. (historical, countable) A thug (member of band of assassins in India).
  2. (historical, uncountable) The murder and robbery of groups of travellers in India.
    • 1983, Lawrence Durrell, Sebastian (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 1070:
      ‘In India, where everything began, this kind of human activity, obscene in itself, was undertaken on behalf of a goddess, called, I think, Kali; the murder was an act of so-called thugee, I was told.’

Alternative forms
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