pillage

English

WOTD – 16 August 2008

Etymology

From Old French pillage, from piller (“plunder”), from an unattested meaning of (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Late Latin piliō, probably a figurative use of (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin pilō (“I remove (hair)”), from pilus (“hair”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɪl.ɪdʒ/, /ˈpɪl.ədʒ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪlədʒ

Verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To loot or plunder by force, especially in time of war.
   • 1911, Sabine Baring-Gould, Castles and Cave Dwellings of Europe, Chapter VI: Cliff Castles—Continued,

     Archibald V. (1361-1397) was Count of Perigord. He was nominally under the lilies [France], but he pillaged indiscriminately in his county.

Translations

loot or plunder by force

• Catalan: saquejar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 掠奪／掠夺 (zh) (lüèduó), 掠夺 (zh) (lüèduó)

• Czech: drancovat, plenit (cs)
• Dutch: plunderen (nl)
• Estonian: rüüstama
• Finnish: ryöstää (fi), hävittää (fi), rosvota (fi)
• French: piller (fr)
• German: plündern (de)
• Greek: λεηλατώ (el) (leïlató), κουρσεύω (el) (koursévo), διαγουμίζω (el) (diagoumízo)

  Ancient: συλάω (suláō)

• Hebrew: שדד m (shadád)
• Icelandic: ræna, rupla
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Indonesian: menjarah (id)
• Irish: slad (ga)
• Italian: saccheggiare (it)
• Japanese: 略奪する (ja) (りゃくだつする, ryakudatsu suru)
• Korean: 약탈하다 (ko) (yaktalhada)
• Latin: praedo, expīlō, populor
• Latvian: sirot
• Maori: pāhuahua, pāhua, pāhue
• Portuguese: pilhar (pt), saquear (pt)
• Romanian: prăda (ro)
• Russian: гра́бить (ru) impf (grábitʹ)
• Spanish: saquear (es)
• Swedish: plundra (sv)
• Turkish: yağma (tr), talan (tr), çapulculuk
• Welsh: diffeithio

Noun

pillage (countable and uncountable, plural pillages)

1. The spoils of war.
   • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Which pillage they with merry march bring home.

2. The act of pillaging.
   • 2013, Zoë Marriage, Formal Peace and Informal War: Security and Development in Congo

     An employee at a brewery in Kinshasa rated the aftermath as more catastrophic to the company than the direct violence: It was more the consequences of the pillages that hit Bracongo – the poverty of the people, our friends who buy beer.

Synonyms

• (spoils of war): See Thesaurus:booty

Translations

the spoils of war

• Dutch: oorlogsbuiit
• Finnish: sotasaalis (fi)
• French: pillage (fr) m
• Greek: λάφυρα (el) n pl (láfyra)
• Hebrew: שלל (he) m (shalál)
• Irish: slad (ga) m
• Italian: bottino (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 略奪品 (りゃくだつひん, ryakudatsuhin)
• Korean: 전리품 (ko) (jeollipum)
• Latin: praedes m
• Maori: parakete
• Portuguese: saque (pt) m, butim (pt) m
• Russian: награ́бленное добро́ n (nagráblennoje dobró), трофе́и (ru) m pl (troféi), добы́ча (ru) f (dobýča)
• Walloon: piyaedje (wa) m, branscataedje (wa) m

the act of pillaging

• Arabic: غَزَاوَة f (ḡazāwa)
• Catalan: saqueig (ca) m, pillatge m
• Czech: plenění n, drancování n
• Dutch: plundering (nl)
• Estonian: rüüstamine
• Finnish: ryöstäminen (fi), ryöväys
• French: pillage (fr) m
• German: Plünderung (de) f
• Greek: λεηλασία (el) f (leïlasía), πλιάτσικο (el) n (pliátsiko), κούρσεμα (el) n (koúrsema), διαγούμισμα (el) n (diagoúmisma)
• Hebrew: ביזה f (bizá)
• Irish: slad (ga) m, sladaíocht f, sladaireacht f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: saccheggio (it) m
• Japanese: 略奪 (ja) (りゃくだつ, ryakudatsu)
• Korean: 약탈 (ko) (yaktal)
• Latin: rapīna f
• Latvian: sirojums m
• Portuguese: saque (pt) m, pilhagem f
• Russian: грабёж (ru) m (grabjóž), разграбле́ние (ru) n (razgrablénije), разбо́й (ru) m (razbój)
• Spanish: saqueo (es) m, pillaje (es) m
• Swedish: plundring (sv) c
• Walloon: piyaedje (wa) m, branscataedje (wa) m

---

French

Etymology

piller +‎ -age

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pi.jaʒ/

Noun

pillage m (plural pillages)

1. pillage

---

Norman

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French pillage.

Noun

pillage m (plural pillages)

1. (Jersey) looting

Related terms

• pilleux (“looter”)

---

Old French

Noun

pillage oblique singular, m (oblique plural pillages, nominative singular pillages, nominative plural pillage)

1. pillaging

Related terms

• piller