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Glite Dictionary
🦹 A robber on foot ➕ Adds extra material
padder

padder

9.9
A robber who attacks travelers while walking, often in the past
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : asaltante a pie
  • In the 18th century, a padder was feared by travelers along rural lanes.

Examples

  • Literary works often portrayed the padder as a cunning villain stalking quiet roads.

  • The notorious padder was finally caught and tried for his crimes.

  • The padder approached travelers on the lonely road.

  • In the past, a padder could strike fear into anyone.

  • In the 18th century, a padder was feared by travelers along rural lanes.

  • Literary works often portrayed the padder as a cunning villain stalking quiet roads.

  • The notorious padder was finally caught and tried for his crimes.

Synonyms

footpad
vspadder
  • Archaic
2 9.9

A person who attacks and robs travelers on roads

is mainly used in historical contexts rather than in modern speech
road agent
vspadder
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who stops and robs travelers on the road in the Old West, often from stagecoaches

focuses on robbing people when the robber is on foot rather than targeting vehicles

Surface Forms

padder singular
padders plural

Morphology

padder = pad (opaque) = pad + er

The form is built from pad + -er, but the historical sense 'a highwayman on foot' is not predictable from the base meaning for most learners.

Etymology

Padder once named a robber who attacked travelers on foot. It comes from the old verb pad, meaning 'to walk softly', and is the same idea as footpad, an older word for a thief on the road. So a padder is someone who robs people while walking, not riding a horse.