Other forms: traitors
A traitor is somebody who betrays their country or their friends. Branded a traitor, a traitor to the cause, hanged as a traitor.
It is among the heaviest words in the language, and it was for centuries the only charge carrying the worst punishments. Whether somebody is a traitor or a resister depends on who wins. The Latin behind it means one who hands over.
1nountraitorSomebody who betrays their country or friends.
“He was branded a traitor for selling secrets to the enemy.”
traitor is a betrayer.
Latin traditor means one who hands over, from tradere, to hand over. Tradition comes from the same handing on.
Latin
trāditor
Old French
traitor
Middle English
traitor
English, today
traitor
From Middle English traitor, traitour, traytour, from Old French traitor (French traître), from Latin trāditor. Displaced native swike from swica, and Middle English proditour and traditour borrowed directly from Latin -. The general Old English word denoting "traitor" was lǣwa or lǣwend. a doublet of traditor and treason.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA