Did you know?
What is the history of the word gangster?
Gangster came into the English language at the latter portion of the 19th century, as one of what is now a large parcel of words which have been formed by adding the noun combining form –ster to an existing word. The ending -ster has a number of possible meanings (“one that does, handles, or operates,” “one that makes or uses,” “one that is associated with or participates in,” “one that is”), and one of its interesting elements is that it has, in many cases, shifted its gender. This second portion of gangster comes from the Old English -estre, meaning “female agent.” The word tapster ("a bartender"), for instance, was tæppestre in Old English, and designated a barmaid, or female tapster. In modern use the addition of -ster may often be found in a gender-neutral sense, as with hipster, or with implications of masculinity, as with gangster and mobster, through prevalence of usage.
Examples of gangster in a Sentence
Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 9 May 2025
In 1979, when Carmine Galante, the head of the Bonanno crime family, was killed, the photographer Hal Goldenberg hoofed it up onto a roof in Brooklyn to get a shot of the gangster’s cooling corpse.
—Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
The various factions all converge as Walker negotiates a rendezvous with the extremely wary Mia, which is interrupted by dirty cops, followed by wave upon wave of gun- and blade-wielding Chinese gangsters.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2025
The writer-director's first entirely original feature—i.e., one that's not based on either real-life events or existing IP—blends elements of gangster action, period romance, historical drama, and supernatural horror into a thrilling story of survival in the Jim Crow South.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gangster
Cite this Entry
“Gangster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gangster. Accessed 12 May. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share