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desperado

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des⋅per⋅a⋅do

  [des-puh-rah-doh, -rey-]
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–noun, plural -does, -dos.
a bold, reckless criminal or outlaw, esp. in the early days of the American West.
Origin:
1600–10; prob. pseudo-Sp alter. of desperate (as n., now obs.), in same sense
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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des·per·a·do   (děs'pə-rä'dō, -rā'-)   
n.   pl. des·per·a·does or des·per·a·dos
A bold or desperate outlaw, especially of the American frontier.

[Probably from Spanish desperado, desesperado, desperate person, from past participle of desesperar, to despair, from Latin dēspērāre; see despair.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

desperado 
1610, "a person in despair," mock-Spanish version of desperate (n.) "reckless criminal" (1563), from L. desperatus (see desperation). There was an adj. desperado in O.Sp., meaning "out of hope, desperate," but apparently it never was used as a noun and it probably has nothing to do with the Eng. word. Meaning "a desperate or reckless man" is recorded from 1647.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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