English edit

Etymology edit

Inherited from Middle English robbour, robbere, either directly taken from or from a calque of Old French robeor. Equivalent to rob +‎ -er.

Compare reaver ("robber, plunderer"), a native English word derived from Proto-Germanic *raubārijaz that is ultimately of more or less the same composition as robber. And compare rover ("a pirate"), another word of the same composition.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

robber (plural robbers)

  1. A person who robs.
  2. An animal who robs.
    • 1907, Frederick William D'Evelyn, “Slaughter of Blue Jays”, in The Condor, volume 9, number 2:
      I remember as a boy in my native land the bad name the common magpie (Pica caudata) had as a destroyer of chickens, and a robber of nests.

Hypernyms edit

Hyponyms edit

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Translations edit

Middle English edit

Noun edit

robber

  1. Alternative form of robbour

Middle French edit

Etymology edit

From Old French rober.

Verb edit

robber

  1. (transitive) to pillage; to plunder
  2. (transitive) to steal; to pinch

Conjugation edit

  • Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Norwegian Bokmål edit

Verb edit

robber

  1. present of robbe