thuggee

T1H4U1G2G2E1E1
UK/θʌˈɡiː/India/ʈʰʌ.ɡiː/India/ʈʰɑ.ɡiː/

noun

A thug (a member of band of assassins in India).

Scrabble 12

Meanings

thuggee1

nounthuggee (countable and uncountable, plural thuggees)

plural thuggees · alternative thagi · alternative thuggi · alternative thugi · alternative Thuggee · alternative Thugee · alternative thugee

  1. countablehistoricalA thug (a member of band of assassins in India).
  2. historicaluncountableThe 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.’

    1983, Lawrence Durrell, Sebastian (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 1070

Thuggee2

nounThuggee (plural Thuggees)

plural Thuggees

  1. Alternative letter-case form of thuggee

Origin

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

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

thuggee. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thuggee

MLA

“thuggee.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thuggee. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thuggee,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thuggee.

Source: thuggee on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.