Raiding

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of conducting surprise attacks with the aim of looting or gaining dominance over a target
2. An operation involving forceful entry or assault to acquire goods or assert power over a location
3. The act of launching unexpected assaults to seize valuables or establish control over a particular area

Etymology: "Raiding" is the form of "raid" used for launching surprise attacks, and the verb's surprising history is that it once meant something almost peaceful: "rād" in Old English denoted a riding, an expedition on horseback, and it is the same word that gave us "road." A raid was originally just a journey, and the older sense of an expedition or hostile ride faded out of standard English in the Early Modern period. The word survived in Scots and northern English as "raid," which later returned to general use largely through Walter Scott, who revived the northern form in his novels in the early 19th century. That revival brought back the sense of a sudden strike, the one that now dominates. In the later 19th century the word also came to describe a swift police operation, a use that may have been shaped by French "razzia," which resembled it in both sound and original meaning.

Synonyms: attacking, storming, invading, plundering, looting

Antonyms: defending, protecting, guarding, safeguarding, shielding