desperado

Etymology

From obsolete Spanish desperado, past participle of desperar, archaic form of desesperar (“to despair”), from Latin disperare (“to despair, to lose hope”), from prefix dis- + sperare (“to hope”). Doublet of desperate.

noun

1. A bold outlaw, especially one from southern portions of the Wild West.
   The kind of persons who excite or give signal to such revolutions — students, young men of letters […], or fierce and justly bankrupt desperadoes, acting everywhere on the discontent of the millions and blowing it into flame, — might give rise to reflections as to the character of our epoch. 1850, Thomas Carlyle, “The present time”, in Latter-Day Pamphlets
   Surely this was the face of a desperado. 1918, Willa Cather, My Antonia, Mirado Modern Classics, paperback edition, page 6
2. (colloquial) A person in desperate circumstances or who is at the point of desperation, such as a down-and-outer, an addict, etc.
   The shortstops and desperados were not permitted to play in this marker crap game. 1981, Sam Grafstein, Dice Doctor
3. (colloquial) A person who is desperately in love or is desperate for a romantic or sexual relationship.
4. (chess) A piece that seems determined to give itself up, typically to bring about stalemate or perpetual check.