pillage

Pillage is the act of taking or stealing something by force.

(noun)

An example of a pillage is a group of people who take over a village and steal all the food and supplies.

Pillage is defined as to take something by force.

(verb)

An example of pillage is holding a knife to someone's back and taking their money and jewelry.

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See pillage in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

  1. the act of plundering
  2. that which is plundered; booty; loot

Origin: ME pilage < MFr < piller: see pill

transitive verb pillaged, pillaging

  1. to deprive of money or property by violence; loot
  2. to take as booty or loot

intransitive verb

to engage in plunder; take loot

Related Forms:

See pillage in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb pil·laged, pil·lag·ing, pil·lag·es
verb, transitive
  1. To rob of goods by force, especially in time of war; plunder.
  2. To take as spoils.
verb, intransitive
To take spoils by force.
noun
  1. The act of pillaging.
  2. Something pillaged; spoils.

Origin:

Origin: From Middle English, booty

Origin: , from Old French

Origin: , from piller, to plunder

Origin: , from peille, rag (probably from Latin pilleus, pīleus, felt cap)

Origin: or from Vulgar Latin *pīliāre

.

Related Forms:

  • pilˈlag·er noun

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