desperado
nounUK /dɛspəˈɹɑːdəʊ/
Etymology From obsolete Spanish desperado, past participle of desperar, archaic form of desesperar (“to despair”), from Latin disperare (“to despair, to lose hope”), from prefix dis- + sperare (“to hope”). Doublet of desperate.
1
A bold outlaw, especially one from southern portions of the Wild West.
- The kind of persons who excite or give signal to such revolutions — students, young men of letters […], or fierce and justly bankrupt desperadoes, acting everywhere on the discontent of the millions and blowing it into flame, — might give rise to reflections as to the character of our epoch.1850, Thomas Carlyle, “The present time”, in Latter-Day Pamphlets:
- Surely this was the face of a desperado.1918, Willa Cather, My Antonia, paperback edition, Mirado Modern Classics, page 6:
2
Colloquial A person in desperate circumstances or who is at the point of desperation, such as a down-and-outer, an addict, etc.
- The shortstops and desperados were not permitted to play in this marker crap game.1981, Sam Grafstein, Dice Doctor:
3
Colloquial A person who is desperately in love or is desperate for a romantic or sexual relationship.
4
Board games, Chess, Games A piece that seems determined to give itself up, typically to bring about stalemate or perpetual check.
- Derived terms
- desperadoism