Bandit Means Someone Who Was Banned
A bandit is an armed robber. The Italian original meant an outlaw in the strict sense: a person formally proclaimed and cast out.
A bandit is an armed robber, usually one of a group. The Italian *bandito* means banished — someone proclaimed an outlaw by public announcement, a *bando*. The word shares its root with *ban* and *banns*, the announcement of a marriage. A bandit was originally defined not by robbery but by exclusion.
- An armed robber. *Bandits on the road.*
- One-armed bandit — a slot machine. *He fed the one-armed bandit.*
- Banditry — robbery as a practice. *Widespread banditry.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | bandit | A masked bandit. |
| Plural | bandits | Armed bandits. |
| Noun | banditry | Rural banditry. |
| Related | ban | A total ban. |
| Related | outlaw | A famous outlaw. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Bandits attacked the convoy.Armed robbery.
- He lost a fortune to the one-armed bandit.A slot machine with a lever.
- Banditry increased after the war.Abstract noun.
Words from the same root
- Ban — a formal prohibition
- Banns — the public announcement of a marriage
- Banish — to send away by proclamation
- Abandon — originally to put under someone's control or leave to fate
- Contraband — goods against a proclamation
From Italian *bandito*, banished, from *bandire*, to proclaim, from a Germanic root meaning to announce. It reached English in the sixteenth century.
Why is a slot machine a one-armed bandit?
Because of the single lever at the side and its reliable habit of taking your money.
Are ban and bandit related?
Yes. Both go back to a root meaning to proclaim publicly. A bandit was proclaimed an outlaw.