riotour

Middle English

Alternative forms

• reatour, riatoure, rietoure, ryetour, ryotour
• riator, riatour, rioter, riottour, ryatour, ryotter, ryouter (Late Middle English)

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French rioteor; equivalent to rioten ‎ -our.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌriːutˈuːr/, /ˈriːutur/, /ˈriːətur/

Noun

riotour (plural riotours)

1. A rioter; a person who participates in a riot.
   • late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Pardoner's Tale, The Canterbury Tales, line 692-693:

     ‘Ye, goddes armes,’ quod this ryotour,
     ‘Is it swich peril with him for to mete?’

     ‘Yea, God's arms,’ said this rioter,
     ‘Is it such peril to meet with him?’

2. A person who lives profligately or dissolutely.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)

3. (rare) A robber or looter.

Descendants

• English: rioter, riotor

References

• “rīotǒur, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.