pillage

English

WOTD – 16 August 2008

Etymology

From Old French pillage, from piller (“plunder”), from an unattested meaning of Late Latin piliō, probably a figurative use of Latin pilō, from pilus (“hair”).

Pronunciation

IPA: /ˈpɪl.ɪdʒ /, /ˈpɪl.ədʒ/, X-SAMPA: /"pIl.@dZ/, /"pIl.IdZ/
Audio (US)
(file)
Rhymes: -ɪlədʒ

Verb

pillage (third-person singular simple present pillages, present participle pillaging, simple past and past participle pillaged)

(transitive, intransitive) To loot or plunder by force, especially in time of war.
- 1911, Sabine Baring-Gould, Castles and Cave Dwellings of Europe, Chapter VI: Cliff Castles—Continued,
  Archibald V. (1361-1397) was Count of Perigord. He was nominally under the lilies [France], but he pillaged indiscriminately in his county.

Translations

loot or plunder by force

Chinese:
Mandarin: 掠奪 (cmn), 掠夺 (cmn) (lüèduó)
Estonian: rüüstama (et)
Finnish: ryöstää (fi)
French: piller (fr)
German: plündern (de)
Indonesian: menjarah (id)

Italian: saccheggiare (it)
Japanese: 略奪する (ja) (りゃくだつする, ryakudatsu suru)
Latin: praedo (la)
Latvian: sirot (lv)
Romanian: prăda (ro)
Russian: грабить (ru) (grábitʹ) impf.
Swedish: plundra (sv)

Noun

pillage (uncountable)

The spoils of war.
- Shakespeare
  Which pillage they with merry march bring home.
The act of pillaging.

Translations

the spoils of war

Finnish: sotasaalis (fi)
Italian: bottino (it)
Japanese: 略奪品 (ja) (りゃくだつひん, ryakudatsuhin)

Russian: награбленное добро (ru) (nagráblennoje dobró) n, трофеи (ru) (troféi) m pl, добыча (ru) (dobýča) f

the act of pillaging

Estonian: rüüstamine (et)
Finnish: ryöstäminen (fi)
German: Plünderung (de) f
Italian: saccheggio (it) m

Japanese: 略奪 (ja) (りゃくだつ, ryakudatsu)
Latvian: sirojums (lv) m
Russian: грабёж (ru) (grabjóž) m, разграбление (ru) (razgrablénije) n, разбой (ru) (razbój) m