nightrider

[ nahyt-rahy-der ]
/ ˈnaɪtˌraɪ dər /

noun

one of a band of mounted men, especially in the southern U.S. during Reconstruction, who committed nocturnal acts of violence and intimidation against blacks and black sympathizers.

Origin of nightrider

First recorded in 1875–80; night + rider

OTHER WORDS FROM nightrider

night·rid·ing, noun

Words nearby nightrider

nightlife, nightlong, nightly, nightmare, nightmarish, nightrider, nights, nightscape, nightshade, nightshade family, nightshirt

Example sentences from the Web for nightrider

  • Miss Lucy, she is awful favourable to all this nightrider business.

    Danny's Own Story |Don Marquis

  • The pirate and the nightrider are nothing to the fox, for romance and danger.

    Reynard the Fox |John Masefield

British Dictionary definitions for nightrider

nightrider
/ (ˈnaɪtˌraɪdə) /

noun

a member of a band of mounted and usually masked White people in the southern US who carried out acts of revenge and intimidation at night after the Civil War

Derived forms of nightrider

nightriding, noun