pil·lage
(pĭl′ĭj)v. pil·laged, pil·lag·ing, pil·lag·es
v.tr.
1. To rob of goods by force, especially in time of war; plunder.
2. To take as spoils.
v.intr.
To take spoils by force.
n.
1. The act of pillaging.
2. Something pillaged; spoils.
[From Middle English, booty, from Old French, from piller, to take (by ruse), plunder, manhandle, from Vulgar Latin *pīliāre, perhaps originally meaning "to deprive (someone) of his felt cap" and derived from Latin pilleus, pīleus, felt cap (given to an ancient Roman freedman as a symbol of his emancipation); perhaps akin to Greek pīlos, felt.]
pil′lag·er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
pillaging
(ˈpɪlɪdʒɪŋ)n
the act of robbing a town, village, etc of booty or spoils, esp during a war
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  pillaging - the act of stealing valuable things from a place; "the plundering of the Parthenon"; "his plundering of the great authors"aggression, hostility - violent action that is hostile and usually unprovoked banditry - the practice of plundering in gangs rapine - the act of despoiling a country in warfare despoilation, despoilment, despoliation, spoilation, spoliation, spoil - the act of stripping and taking by force ravaging, devastation - plundering with excessive damage and destruction depredation, predation - an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding sack - the plundering of a place by an army or mob; usually involves destruction and slaughter; "the sack of Rome" |
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