大約在1400年,也稱爲 brigaunt,“輕裝不規則步兵”,源自於14世紀的古法語 brigand,來自意大利語 brigante “騎兵,游擊隊員,步兵”,源自於 brigare “打架,戰鬥”(見 brigade)。“強盜,海盜,靠搶劫爲生的人”的意義在英語中較早出現(14世紀晚期),反映了職業僱傭軍和武裝有組織的罪犯之間缺乏區別。
Probably then it was in the sense of skirmishers that the name of brigand was given to certain light-armed foot-soldiers, frequently mentioned by Froissart and his contemporaries. ... The passage from the sense of a light-armed soldier to that of a man pillaging on his own account, is easily understood. [Hensleigh Wedgwood, "A Dictionary of English Etymology," 1859]
可能是在游擊隊員的意義上, brigand 這個名字被賦予了某些輕裝步兵,弗羅薩特和他的同時代人經常提到他們。...從輕裝士兵的意義到自己掠奪的人的意義的轉變很容易理解。[亨斯利·韋奇伍德,“英語詞源詞典”,1859年]