theft

From Middle English theft, thefte, þefte, þefþe, þiefþe, Old English þīefþ, from Proto-West Germanic *þiubiþu, from Proto-Germanic *þiubiþō, from *þeubaz (“thief”), equivalent to thief +‎ -th or thieve +‎ -th. Cognate with Old Frisian thiuvethe, thiufthe (“theft”), dialectal Dutch diefte (“theft”), obsolete German Diebde (“theft”), Icelandic þýfð (“theft”).

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /θɛft/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛft

theft (countable and uncountable, plural thefts)

1. The act of stealing property.

   resource theft

   Bike theft is on the rise.

   A suspect was arrested for the theft of a gold necklace.

   • 2007 July 5, Charles Hugh Smith, When Lies Become Normal, Is Truth Dead or Just in Hiding?‎:

     If you steal a candy bar, you are guilty of theft, regardless of the value.

• See Thesaurus:theft

• thief
• thieve

• nick
• steal
• TWOC

• theft on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

theft

1. Alternative form of thefte