1
Stage 1 of 4
brigare
Italian · medieval
"to brawl, fight"
a verb meaning to brawl or fight, of disputed deeper origin
2
Stage 2 of 4
brigante
Italian · medieval
"a light-armed soldier, skirmisher"
named a lightly armed foot soldier or skirmisher
3
Stage 3 of 4
brigand
Old French · 1300s
"an irregular foot soldier"
borrowed from Italian, keeping the military sense
4
Stage 4 of 4
brigand
English · 1400
"a bandit, robber"
shifted from soldier to freebooter, as armed troops and outright criminals blurred together
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