purloin

From Middle English purloynen (“to remove”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman purloigner (“to put far away”), one of the variants of Old French porloignier. Doublet of prolong.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɜːˈlɔɪn/

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• Rhymes: -ɔɪn

purloin (third-person singular simple present purloins, present participle purloining, simple past and past participle purloined)

1. (transitive, usually formal or humorous) To take the property of another, often in breach of trust; to appropriate wrongfully; to steal.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Had from his wakeful custody purloined / The guarded gold.

   • 1900, One Who Was in It, chapter 8, in Kruger's Secret Service, pages 168–169:

     Probably my acquaintance, Mr Blank, therefore, would have been able, if he had so wished to do, to purloin the papers which he mentioned.

   • 1916, chapter 4, in A. Cecil Curtis, transl., Royal Highness, translation of Königliche Hoheit by Thomas Mann:

     The refreshment room was full of chatter and babble, which attracted everybody's envious glances. Some one had left his set in the middle of the dance, purloined a sandwich from the buffet, and was now chewing away proudly as he swerved and stamped, to the amusement of the rest.

   • 2009, David Walliams, Mr Stink:

     Or was this simply another item Mr. Stink had purloined during his career as a gentleman thief?

2. (intransitive) To commit theft; to thieve.
   • 1622, William Gouge, Of Domestical Duties, published 2006, →ISBN, page 454:

     The Apostle expressly forbiddeth servants to purloin (Titus 2:10).