bushranger

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical Australian usage: an escaped convict or other outlaw who lived in the bush and survived by robbery

   The coach carried an armed guard because bushrangers had attacked travelers on the road.

2. 2
   noun

   dated: a person skilled at traveling or surviving in the Australian bush

   The expedition hired an experienced bushranger to guide it through the remote country.

An Australian compound of bush + ranger, recorded from the early nineteenth century. It first denoted escaped convicts hiding in the bush and broadened to colonial-era rural bandits; an older neutral use could mean someone adept in bush travel.

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