Ladrones

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Thieves or robbers typically categorized as individuals engaging in theft or burglary
2. A term referring to individuals involved in dishonest practices, often stealing from others
3. Describing people who commit acts of larceny or take property unlawfully

Etymology: "Ladrones" is the plural of "ladrón," the Spanish word for thief, and it is the form English speakers meet most often in the name of the Ladrone Islands, the old Spanish name for the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific. Spanish sailors gave the name to the islands because of the Chamorro inhabitants' habit of taking whatever the Europeans left unguarded. The Spanish noun "ladrón" descends from Late Latin "latro," a word for a hired soldier or brigand, which in turn came from a Greek word for a mercenary. Over time its sense narrowed from armed irregular fighters to ordinary thieves, and the Spanish plural simply counts several such people.

Synonyms: thieves, robbers, bandits, burglaries, plunderers

Antonyms: law-abiders, police, guards