thief

noun
/θiːf/UK/θif/US

Etymology

From Middle English thef, theef, þef, from Old English þēof, from Proto-West Germanic *þeub, from Proto-Germanic *þeubaz.

  1. inherited from *þeubaz
  2. inherited from *þeub
  3. inherited from þēof
  4. inherited from thef

Definitions

  1. One who carries out a theft.

    • water-thieves and land-thieves
  2. One who steals another person's property, especially by stealth and without using force…

    One who steals another person's property, especially by stealth and without using force or violence.

    • Take heed to false harlots, and more, ye wot what. / If noise ye heare, / Looke all be cleare: / Least drabs doe noie thee, / And theeues destroie thee.
  3. A waster in the snuff of a candle.

    • But hear you, my Worthy Brethren: do not you, where you see a thief in the candle, call presently for an extinguisher[…]

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for thief. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA