raider

1. A surprise attack by a small armed force.

2. A sudden forcible entry into a place by police: a raid on a gambling den.

3. An entrance into another's territory for the purpose of seizing goods or valuables.

4. A predatory operation mounted against a competitor, especially an attempt to lure away the personnel or membership of a competing organization.

5. An attempt to seize control of a company, as by acquiring a majority of its stock.

6. An attempt by speculators to drive stock prices down by coordinated selling.

Word History: Few soldiers traveling a road to carry out a raid would connect the words road and raid. However, both descend from the same Old English word rād. Old English rād meant "the act of riding" and "the act of riding with a hostile intent; that is, a raid," senses that no longer exist for our word road. The ai in raid represents the standard development in the northern dialects of Old English long a, while the oa in road represents the standard development of Old English long a in the rest of the English dialects. It was left to Sir Walter Scott to revive the Scots form raid with the sense "a military expedition on horseback." The Scots were not the only ones conducting raids, however. We find these words in the Middle English Coventry Leet Book: "aftur a Rode ... made uppon the Scottes at thende of this last somer." While road is not used in this way any more in English, a trace of this usage is still detectable in the compound inroad, literally "a riding or advance on or in."