Robin Hood

From Middle English, from Old French, diminutive of Robert.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɹɒbɪn ˈhʊd/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɹɑbɪn hʊd/

Robin Hood

1. A legendary English outlaw famous for his skill in archery and his vow to defend the poor and the oppressed against established authority.
2. A place in England:
   1. A hamlet in Baslow and Bubnell parish, Derbyshire Dales district, Derbyshire (OS grid ref SK2772). ^[1]
   2. A settlement in Wrightington parish, West Lancashire district, Lancashire (OS grif ref SD5211).
   3. A village in the Metropolitan Borough of Leeds, West Yorkshire (OS grid ref SE3227).
3. A locality near Drouin, Victoria, Australia.

Robin Hood (plural Robin Hoods)

1. A criminal or vigilante with similar social tendencies.
   • 1862, Henry T. Spicer, “Black Flags in the Channel”, in Charles Dickens, editor, All the Year Round, volume 6, page 523:

     There were still nobly-born and accomplished sea-rovers — Robin Hoods of the wave — […]

   • 1954, “Stupid Cupid”, Howard Greenfield (lyrics), Neil Sedaka (music), performed by Connie Francis:

     Hey now, go play Robin Hood with somebody else's heart.

   • 2002, Peter Drahos, John Braithwaite, Information Feudalism: Who Owns the Knowledge Economy?:

     Of course the story is more interesting and complex than that; there are Robin Hoods of infofeudalism – the Free Software Movement and many groups like Napster.

2. (archery, informal) Short for Robin Hood shot

• “Robin Hood”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “Robin Hood”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “Robin Hood”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
• “Robin Hood”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “Robin Hood”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.