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Hello, Quote:Under Godigisel's son Gunderic, the Vandals plundered their way westward and southward through Aquitaine. Vandals What does the phrase 'plundered their way' mean? Is the 'their way' acting as an adverbial phrase? Thank you.
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Hello Onsen.
It's a mixture.
"To make their way" is an idiomatic phrasal verb meaning "to go" or "to travel".
"Would passengers for the BA956 flight to Tampa please make their way to the boarding gate. Thank you."
We made our way through the woods and reached the village.
It has the implication of having to navigate or travel around barriers or something. It's not a straight-line path.
So the Vandals travelled towards the south-west, plundering villages and towns when they passed nearby.
I don't see "their way" as an adverb, really.
I could see "their way westward and southward through Aquitaine" as an advebial phrase of location/direction.
The Vandals plundered things. The location and direction was "on their way westward and southward through Aquitaine".
Personally, I'd just call it a mixed idiom, and not try to analyse the form too stringently.
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