Footpad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see dance pad.

A footpad is a robber or thief specializing in pedestrian victims. The term was used widely throughout the 16th century until the 19th century, but gradually fell out of common use. A footpad was considered a low criminal, as opposed to the riding highwaymen, who in certain cases might gain fame as well as notoriety.[1]

[edit] Etymology

According to The American Heritage Dictionary, the origin of the term is not entirely clear, but it may be a concatenation of foot and the word pad, related to path.[2] This would indicate a robber who is on foot, as opposed to his equestrian counterpart.

The term has now fallen out of use and has, more or less, been replaced by the term "mugger."

[edit] In popular culture

Footpad is also the name of one of the Thieves' Guild ranks in the computer game Oblivion.

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[edit] References and External Links

  1. ^ The Guardian: Stand and deliver: The history of the highwayman [[1]]
  2. ^ footpad - definition of footpad by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia