thuggee

/θʌˈɡiː/

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindustani ठगी (ṭhagī) / ٹھگی (ṭhagī).

Why this word is great

THUGGEE — [Noun] A member of a historical Indian cult of assassins and robbers who preyed on travelers. From Hindustani ठगी (ṭhagī) / ٹھگی (ṭhagī), derived from Sanskrit sthaga ("concealment, deception"). Unlike "bandit" (a general term for a robber, lacking the specific historical and organized connotations of Thuggee) or "assassin" (a professional killer, but without the ritualistic and group-based aspects characteristic of Thuggee), "Thuggee" evokes a brotherhood of death, bound by sacred strangulation. It is the silent approach on a moonlit road, the yellow scarf flickering like a serpent’s tongue before the fatal twist, the careful burial of each victim as an offering to Kali—a dark sacrament performed not for gold alone, but for the favor of a goddess who smiles only in destruction.

noun

  1. A thug (a member of band of assassins in India).
  2. The murder and robbery of groups of travellers in India.“‘In India, where everything began, this kind of human activity, obscene in itself, was undertaken on behalf of a goddess, called, I think, Kali; the murder was an act of so-called thugee, I was told.’”