highwayman
nounCA /ˈhaɪˌweɪmən/
Etymology From highway + man.
1
Historical A person, usually mounted on horseback, who robbed travelers on public roads.
- […] here were no Gibers, Cenſurers, Backbiters, Pick-pockets, Highwaymen, Houſebreakers, Attorneys, Bawds, Buffoons, Gameſters, Politicians, Wits, ſplenetick tedious Talkers, Controvertiſts, Raviſhers, Murderers, Robbers, Virtuoſo's; […]1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author’s Oeconomy and Happy Life among the Houyhnhnms. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part IV (A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms), page 301:
- And the highwayman came riding— / Riding—riding— / The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.1906 August, Alfred Noyes, “The Highwayman”, in Poems, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., published October 1906, →OCLC, part 1, stanza I, page 45:
1 more example
- I was a highwayman / Across the coach roads I did ride / With sword and pistol by my side.1977, Jimmy Webb, Highwayman:
- Synonyms
- highpad, highwayman, highwaywoman, road agent, scampsman, Saint Nicholas' clerk, Knight of Saint Nicholas, Saint Nicholas' clergyman
- Related terms
- highway robbery, stand and deliver