maraud
English
Etymology
1690, from French marauder, derivative of maraud (“rogue, vagabond”), from Middle French maraud (“rascal”), from Old French marault (“beggar, vagabond”), from marir, marrir (“to trouble, stray, lose ones way, be lost”), from Frankish *marrjan (“to neglect, hinder”), from Proto-Germanic *marzijaną (“to neglect, hinder, spoil”), from Proto-Indo-European *mers- (“to trouble, confuse, ignore, forget”), + Old French suffix -ault, -aud. Cognate with Old High German marrjan, marren (“to obstruct, hinder”), Old Saxon merrian (“to hinder, waste”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐍂𐌶𐌾𐌰𐌽 (marzjan, “to offend”). Related to mar.
Verb
maraud (third-person singular simple present marauds, present participle marauding, simple past and past participle marauded)
- (intransitive) To move about in roving fashion looking for plunder.
- a marauding band
- (transitive) To raid and pillage.
- To act aggressively.
Usage notes
The verb and adjective are more common as “marauding”.