/ θʌg; NAmE / noun
a violent person, especially a criminal :
a gang of thugs
► thug·gish / ˈθʌgɪʃ; NAmE / adjective :
thuggish brutality
••
WORD ORIGIN
early 19th cent. (originally referring to a member of an organization of robbers and assassins in India): from Hindi ṭhag swindler, thief, based on Sanskrit sthagati he covers or conceals. The current sense arose in the mid 19th cent.