Where does “brigand” come from?
Brigand comes from Middle English bregaund, from Old French brigand, from Italian brigare meaning to fight or quarrel, derived from Italian briga meaning strife or trouble.
brigand (English): An outlaw or bandit
Ancestry of “brigand”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | brigaunt | — |
| 2 | Old French | brigand | foot soldier |
| 3 | Italian | briga | trouble, bother; third-person singular present... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | brekaną | to break |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰrēǵ- | to shine, shimmer |
Words derived from “brigand”