Plundering
/ˈplʌn.dər.ɪŋ/noun
Taking goods by force, especially in war or during a disaster.
Did you know?The English word ultimately comes from Low German and Dutch forms meaning household goods or bedding, showing how a word for ordinary possessions became a term for violent looting.
Etymological Timeline
Modern English
English
plundering
“taking goods by force; looting”
17th Century
English
plunder
“to loot or seize goods”
17th Century
Low German / Dutch
plunderen / plunderen
“to seize goods; to loot”
Earlier Germanic
Germanic
plunder
“bedding, household goods, odds and ends”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*plundrō
“bundle, bedding, household stuff”