Violent criminals or gangsters who use intimidation and force. Members of organized crime groups or street gangs.
From Hindi 'thag' meaning deceiver or swindler, referring to members of a religious sect in India who robbed and murdered travelers. The word entered English in the early 19th century through British colonial contact.
The original Thugs were a secret society in colonial India who strangled travelers as offerings to the goddess Kali, making this one of the few English words that transformed from describing a specific religious cult to general criminal behavior. The British suppression of the Thuggee cult in the 1830s was one of the most successful anti-crime campaigns in history.
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