thuggee

English

Etymology

From Hindi ठगी (ṭhagī).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /θʌɡi/
  • (India) IPA(key): /ʈʰʌɡi/, /ʈʰɑɡi/

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, Faber & Faber 2004 (Avignon Quintet), p. 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.’
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