A person who betrays their country, friend, or group by helping the enemy or doing something disloyal.
From Old French 'traitour' and Latin 'traditor,' derived from 'tradere' meaning 'to hand over' or 'to deliver.' The word literally means 'one who hands over or delivers,' emphasizing the act of betrayal through handing someone or something over to an enemy.
Judas Iscariot, Christianity's most famous traitor, may have been called 'Iscariot' because he came from the town of Kerioth—meaning the word might literally mean 'the man from Kerioth who betrayed.' This shows how traitors became so significant in culture that their origins were preserved in history.
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