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Definition of purloin - 6 dictionary results
pur⋅loin
[per-loin, pur-loin] 
–verb (used with object)
| 1. | to take dishonestly; steal; filch; pilfer. |
–verb (used without object)
| 2. | to commit theft; steal. |
Origin:
1400–50; late ME purloynen < AF purloigner to put off, remove, equiv. to pur- (< L prō- pro- 1 ) + -loigner, deriv. of loin at a distance, far off < L longē
1400–50; late ME purloynen < AF purloigner to put off, remove, equiv. to pur- (< L prō- pro- 1 ) + -loigner, deriv. of loin at a distance, far off < L longē
Related forms:
pur⋅loin⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To purloin
| pur·loin (pər-loin', pûr'loin') v. pur·loined, pur·loin·ing, pur·loins v. tr. To steal, often in a violation of trust. See Synonyms at steal. v. intr. To commit theft. [Middle English purloinen, to remove, from Anglo-Norman purloigner : pur-, away (from Latin prō-; see pro-1) + loign, far (from Latin longē, from longus, long; see del-1 in Indo-European roots).] pur·loin'er n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Purloin
Pur*loin"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Purloined; p. pr. & vb. n. Purloining.] [OF. purloignier, porloignier, to retard, delay; pur, por, pour, for (L. pro) + loin far, far off (L. longe). See Prolong, and cf. Eloign.] To take or carry away for one's self; hence, to steal; to take by theft; to filch. Had from his wakeful custody purloined The guarded gold. --Milton. when did the muse from Fletcher scenes purloin ? --Dryden.Purloin
Pur*loin"\, v. i. To practice theft; to steal. --Titus ii. 10.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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purloin
c.1440, "to put far away," from Anglo-Fr. purloigner "remove," from O.Fr. porloigner "put off, retard, delay," from por- (from L. pro- "forth") + O.Fr. loing "far," from L. longe, from longus (see long). Sense of "to steal" (1548) is a development in Eng.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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