Bandit, n.; pl.Bandits, or Banditti.
Etymology: [It. bandito outlaw, p.p. of bandire to proclaim, to banish, to proscribe, LL. bandire, bannire. See Ban an edict, and cf. Banish.]
An outlaw; a brigand. No savage fierce, bandit, or mountaineer. Milton.
Note: The plural banditti was formerly used as a collective noun. Deerstealers are ever a desperate banditti. Sir W. Scott.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for bandit; he lists it under robber.
He lists it without comment; the entries above explain its neighbors.