What does thuggee mean?

Definitions for thuggee
thuggee

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word thuggee.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. thuggeenoun

    murder and robbery by thugs

Wiktionary

  1. Thuggeenoun

    A thug (member of band of assassins in India).

  2. Thuggeenoun

    The murder and robbery of groups of travellers in India.

Wikipedia

  1. Thuggee

    Thuggee (UK: , US: ) are actions and crimes carried out by Thugs, historically, organised gangs of professional robbers and murderers in India. The English word thug traces its roots to the Hindi ठग (ṭhag), which means 'swindler' or 'deceiver'. Related words are the verb thugna ('to deceive'), from the Sanskrit स्थग (sthaga 'cunning, sly, fraudulent') and स्थगति (sthagati, 'he conceals'). This term, describing the murder and robbery of travellers, was popular in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent, especially northern and eastern regions of historical India (present-day northern/eastern India and Bangladesh). Contemporary scholarship is increasingly skeptical of the thuggee concept, and has questioned the existence of such a phenomenon, which has led many historians to describe thuggee as the invention of the British colonial regime.Thugs were said to have travelled in groups across the Indian subcontinent. Thugs are said to have operated as gangs of highway robbers, tricking and later strangling their victims. To take advantage of their victims, the thugs would join travellers and gain their confidence, which would allow them to surprise and strangle the travellers with a handkerchief or noose. They would then rob and bury their victims. This led to the thugs being called Phansigar ("using a noose"), a term more commonly used in southern India. During the 1830s, the thugs were targeted for eradication by the Governor-General of India, Lord William Bentinck, and his chief captain, William Henry Sleeman.

ChatGPT

  1. thuggee

    Thuggee refers to a systematic, organized cult or sect in India, whose followers, known as "thugs", were involved in ritualistic mass murders and robberies from the 14th century until the 19th century. The term "thuggee" is derived from the Hindi word "thag", which means "thief". These members typically befriended travelers and strangled them to death, usually for the purpose of robbery. The British authorities eventually suppressed Thuggee in the mid-19th century. The term later evolved to mean "gangster" in contemporary slang.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Thuggeenoun

    the practice of secret or stealthy murder by Thugs

Wikidata

  1. Thuggee

    Thuggee, also known as tuggee refers to the acts of thugs, an organized gang of professional assassins. The thugs traveled in groups across India for several hundred years. They were devoted to Kali, a Hindu goddess associated with violence, sexuality, and more recently, empowerment. They were first mentioned in the Ẓiyāʾ-ud-Dīn Baranī dated around 1356. In the 1830s they were targeted by William Bentinck, along with his chief captain William Henry Sleeman, for eradication. They were seemingly destroyed by this effort. According to some estimates the Thugs murdered 1 million people between 1740 and 1840. The Thugs would join travellers and gain their confidence. This would allow them to then surprise and strangle their victims by tossing a handkerchief or noose around their necks. The killings were performed in honour of the Hindu goddess Kali and were very ritualistic. They would then rob their victims of valuables and bury their bodies. This led them to also be called Phansigar, a term more commonly used in southern India.

Matched Categories

How to pronounce thuggee?

How to say thuggee in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of thuggee in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of thuggee in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1


Translations for thuggee

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for thuggee »

Translation

Find a translation for the thuggee definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"thuggee." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/thuggee>.

Discuss these thuggee definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for thuggee? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    thuggee

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    either of two different animal or plant species living in close association but not interdependent
    A bristly
    B splay
    C irascible
    D commensal

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for thuggee: