Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “thug” come from?

Thug comes from Hindi ठग, traced through Ashokan Prakrit to Sanskrit स्थग and Proto-Indo-European (s)teg-, a root meaning to cover or conceal.

thug (English): Someone with an intimidating and unseemly...

Definitions

  1. Someone with an intimidating and unseemly...

Ancestry of “thug”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hindiठगswindler, fraud, cheat; thug
2Prakrit𑀞𑀕—

Words derived from “thug”

  • thuggish
  • thuggery
  • thugging
  • thuggishness
  • thuggy
  • thuglike
  • thuggishly
  • thugdom
  • thuglet
  • thugness
  • cyberthug
  • thugette
  • thugification
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