traitor

B2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈtɹeɪtɚ/ UK /ˈtɹeɪtə(ɹ)/ See IPA manual

Freq #3198

Meanings

1

noun
A person who betrays their country, often by helping an enemy.

He was executed as a traitor for selling secrets to the enemy.
2

noun
Someone who betrays a friend, group, or person who trusted them.

They called him a traitor for telling the boss about their plan.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who betrays their... betrayer defector turncoat quisling

2 noun · someone who betrays a... backstabberbetrayerdouble-crossersnake rat

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Word family

Forms traitors

Derived forms traitordomtraitorhoodtraitorishtraitorizetraitorlesstraitorliketraitorlytraitoroustraitorshiptraitorsome

Etymology

From Middle English traitor, traitour, traytour, from Old French traïtor (French traître), from Latin trāditor. Displaced native Middle English swike from Old English swica (“traitor”), and Middle English proditour and traditour borrowed directly from Latin. The general Old English word denoting "traitor" was lǣwa or lǣwend. Doublet of traditor.

traitor Middle English trāditor Latin

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# traitor

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈtɹeɪtɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈtɹeɪtə(ɹ)/
**Frequency rank:** 3198

## Meanings
1. A person who betrays their country, often by helping an enemy.
2. Someone who betrays a friend, group, or person who trusted them.

## Examples
- He was executed as a traitor for selling secrets to the enemy.
- They called him a traitor for telling the boss about their plan.

## Synonyms
- judas
- quisling

## Derived Forms
- traitordom
- traitorhood
- traitorish
- traitorize
- traitorless
- traitorlike
- traitorly
- traitorous
- traitorship
- traitorsome

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: traitor
- Root: trāditor

## Etymology
From Middle English traitor, traitour, traytour, from Old French traïtor (French traître), from Latin trāditor. Displaced native Middle English swike from Old English swica (“traitor”), and Middle English proditour and traditour borrowed directly from Latin. The general Old English word denoting "traitor" was lǣwa or lǣwend. Doublet of traditor.

## AI Etymology
Traitor is from Middle English traitor, traitour, traytour, from Old French traïtor (French traître), from Latin trāditor. Displaced native Middle English swike from Old English swica (“traitor”), and Middle English proditour and traditour borrowed directly from Latin. The general Old English word denoting "traitor" was lǣwa or lǣwend. Doublet of traditor. In present-day use, it can mean a person who betrays their country, often by helping an enemy, or someone who betrays a friend, group, or person who trusted them.

## Topics
- People & Society

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traitor

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