plunder

See also: Plunder and plünder

English

Etymology

Recorded since 1632 (during the Thirty Years War, native British use since the Cromwellian Civil War), from Hutterisch plunderen (“to plunder, originally "to take away household furniture"”) (Dutch plunderen) from plunder (“household goods, clothes; lumber, baggage”); akin to Middle Dutch plunder (“household goods”), Saterland Frisian plunnerje (“to loot, plunder”), West Frisian plunje and Dutch plunje (“clothes”).

Pronunciation

• audio (US)

  (file)

• enPR: plŭn'də(r), IPA^(key): /ˈplʌndə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ʌndə(ɹ)

Verb

plunder (third-person singular simple present plunders, present participle plundering, simple past and past participle plundered)

1. (transitive) To pillage, take or destroy all the goods of, by force (as in war); to raid, sack.

   The mercenaries plundered the small town.

   The shopkeeper was plundered of his possessions by the burglar.

2. (transitive) To take (goods) by pillage.

   The mercenaries plundered all the goods they found.

3. (intransitive) To take by force or wrongfully; to commit robbery or looting, to raid.

   "Now to plunder, mateys!" screamed a buccaneer, to cries of "Arrgh!" and "Aye!" all around.

4. (transitive) To make extensive (over)use of, as if by plundering; to use or use up wrongfully.

   The miners plundered the jungle for its diamonds till it became a muddy waste.

5. To take unexpectedly.
   • 2014, Paul Doyle, "Southampton hammer eight past hapless Sunderland in barmy encounter", The Guardian, 18 October 2014:

     The Serb teed up Steve Davis, who crossed low for Graziano Pellè to plunder his fifth league goal of the campaign.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• plunderable
• plunderage

• plunderer
• plunderous

Translations

to take all the goods of, by force (as in war) (transitive)

• Aromanian: prad, mprad, dispolj
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 掠奪 (zh), 掠夺 (zh) (lüèduó)

• Czech: vyplenit
• Dutch: plunderen (nl), brandschatten (nl)
• Finnish: ryöstää (fi)
• French: piller (fr)
• Georgian: ძარცვავს (ʒarcvavs), გლეჯს (gleǯs), იტაცებს (iṭacebs)
• German: ausplündern, plündern (de)
• Greek: λεηλατώ (el) (leilató), λαφυραγωγώ (el) (lafyragogó), διαγουμίζω (el) (diagoumízo), κουρσεύω (el) (koursévo)
• Hungarian: kifoszt (hu)
• Indonesian: menjarah (id)
• Italian: saccheggiare (it), depredare (it), predare, fare man bassa
• Japanese: 略奪する (ja) (りゃくだつする, ryakudatsu suru)
• Latin: praedo, populor

• Maori: whakarekereke, pāhuahua, pāhua, pāhue, tūkuku, mūrei, hone
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: plyndre (no)

  Nynorsk: plyndre

• Occitan: pilhar (oc), saquejar (oc)
• Polish: łupić impf, złupić pf, grabić (pl) impf, ograbić pf, zagrabić pf, obłupić pf, plądrować (pl) impf, splądrować pf, rabować (pl) impf, zrabować pf, obrabować (pl) pf
• Portuguese: saquear (pt), pilhar (pt)
• Romanian: prăda (ro), despuia (ro)
• Russian: гра́бить (ru) impf (grábitʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: creach
• Spanish: saquear (es)
• Swedish: plundra (sv)
• Turkish: yağmalamak (tr), talan etmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: плюндрувати impf (pl'undruváty)
• Walloon: piyî (wa), branscater (wa)

to take by force or wrongfully

• Czech: loupit (cs)
• Dutch: plunderen (nl), roven (nl)
• Finnish: ryöstää (fi)
• Georgian: ძარცვავს (ʒarcvavs), იტაცებს (iṭacebs)
• German: plündern (de)
• Hungarian: fosztogat (hu)
• Italian: razziare
• Maori: hui, pāhuahua, pāhua, pāhue, tūkuku, hone
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: plyndre (no)

  Nynorsk: plyndre

• Portuguese: saquear (pt), pilhar (pt)
• Scottish Gaelic: creach
• Spanish: saquear (es)
• Swedish: plundra (sv)
• Turkish: gasp etmek (tr)
• Walloon: piyî (wa), haper (wa)

to commit robbery or looting (intransitive)

• Dutch: plunderen (nl), roven (nl)
• Finnish: ryöstää (fi)
• Georgian: იტაცებს (iṭacebs), ძარცვავს (ʒarcvavs), იპარავს (iṗaravs)
• German: plündern (de)
• Greek: πλιατσικολογώ (el) (pliatsikologó), λεηλατώ (el) (leilató)
• Hungarian: kirabol (hu)
• Italian: rapinare (it)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: plyndre (no)

  Nynorsk: plyndre

• Portuguese: pilhar (pt), saquear (pt)
• Scottish Gaelic: creach
• Spanish: saquear (es)
• Swedish: plundra (sv)
• Turkish: çalmak (tr), aşırmak (tr)
• Walloon: piyî (wa)

to use or use up wrongfully

• Dutch: plunderen (nl), leegroven, opgebruiken (nl), uitputten (nl)
• Finnish: ryöstää (fi)
• German: ausbeuten (de), ausplündern
• Greek: καταληστεύω (katalistévo)

• Hungarian: kifoszt (hu)
• Italian: saccheggiare (it)
• Spanish: saquear (es)
• Walloon: piyî (wa), forsipoujhî (wa)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} piller (fr), ^{(please verify)} ravager (fr)

Noun

plunder (uncountable)

1. An instance of plundering
2. The loot attained by plundering

   The Hessian kept his choicest plunder in a sack that never left his person, for fear that his comrades would steal it.

3. (slang, dated) baggage; luggage

Synonyms

• (loot attained by plundering): For semantic relationships of this sense, see booty in the Thesaurus.

Translations

instance of plundering

• Dutch: plundering (nl), brandschatting
• Finnish: ryöstö (fi)
• French: pillage (fr) m
• German: Plünderung (de) f
• Greek: πλιάτσικο (el) n (pliátsiko), λεηλασία (el) f (leilasía), λαφυραγώγηση (el) f (lafyragógisi), κούρσεμα (el) n (koúrsema), διαγούμισμα (el) n (diagoúmisma)
• Irish: argain f
• Italian: saccheggio (it) m, sacco (it) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: plyndring (no) m, f

  Nynorsk: plyndring f

• Portuguese: saque (pt) m, pilhagem f
• Russian: грабёж (ru) m (grabjóž), разграбле́ние (ru) n (razgrablénije)
• Spanish: saqueo (es) m
• Swedish: plundring (sv) c
• Turkish: yağma (tr), talan (tr)

loot attained by plundering

• Armenian: ավար (hy) (avar), թալան (hy) (tʿalan)

  Old Armenian: աւար (awar), ապուռ (apuṙ)

• Aromanian: pradã f, spolji, pljashcã f
• Czech: lup (cs) m, kořist (cs) f
• Dutch: buit (nl), plunderbuit
• Finnish: ryöstösaalis
• French: butin (fr)
• German: Beute (de) f, Raubgut n
• Greek: λάφυρα (el) n pl (láfyra), λεία (el) f (leía)
• Hungarian: zsákmány (hu)
• Italian: bottino (it) m

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bytte (no) n

  Nynorsk: bytte n

• Portuguese: saque (pt) f, butim (pt) m
• Romanian: pradă (ro) f
• Russian: награ́бленное добро́ n (nagráblennoje dobró), добы́ча (ru) f (dobýča), трофе́й (ru) m pl (troféj)
• Scottish Gaelic: creach f
• Serbo-Croatian: плен m, плијен m
• Spanish: botín (es), saqueo (es)
• Turkish: ganimet (tr), olca (tr), yağma (tr), çapul (tr), talan (tr), plaçka (tr)

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch plunder, further etymology unknown.

Alternative forms

• plonder (obsolete)

Noun

plunder c (plural plunders, diminutive plundertje n)

1. One's property, (collective) possessions,
   1. Notably furniture and other (mainly small) home inventory

Synonyms

• have (en goed), huisraad

Derived terms

• plunderage
• geplunderd (adjective)
• plunderij
• plunderbroek
• plunderkamer m, f
• plundermarkt m, f
• plundermelk m, f
• plunderzolder m
• bedelaarsplunder ?m

Etymology 2

Verb

plunder

1. first-person singular present indicative of plunderen
2. imperative of plunderen