fusilar

to shoot

verb foo-see-LAHR Rare

Origin: From fusil (rifle), borrowed from French fusil, ultimately from Latin focus (fire, hearth).

Also means

to execute by firing squad

Usage Note

Fusilar literally means to shoot by firing squad, but in informal and journalistic Spanish it also means to plagiarise or copy without credit (le fusilo el trabajo — he copied his work outright). The noun is fusilamiento (execution by shooting) and fusilero (rifleman). The colloquial 'plagiarise' meaning is widespread in Latin America and Spain.

Examples

"Los rebeldes fueron fusilados al amanecer."

Natural Translation

The rebels were shot at dawn.

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