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thief - 5 dictionary results
thief
[theef] 
–noun, plural thieves.
| a person who steals, esp. secretly or without open force; one guilty of theft or larceny. |
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE thēof; c. D dief, G Dieb, ON thjōfr, Goth thiufs
bef. 900; ME; OE thēof; c. D dief, G Dieb, ON thjōfr, Goth thiufs
Synonyms:
burglar, pickpocket, highwayman. Thief, robber refer to one who steals. A thief takes the goods or property of another by stealth without the latter's knowledge: like a thief in the night. A robber trespasses upon the house, property, or person of another, and makes away with things of value, even at the cost of violence: A robber held up two women on the street.
burglar, pickpocket, highwayman. Thief, robber refer to one who steals. A thief takes the goods or property of another by stealth without the latter's knowledge: like a thief in the night. A robber trespasses upon the house, property, or person of another, and makes away with things of value, even at the cost of violence: A robber held up two women on the street.
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 thief
| thief (thēf) n. pl. thieves (thēvz) One who steals, especially by stealth. [Middle English, from Old English thēof.] |
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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Thief
Thief\ (th[=e]f), n.; pl. Thieves (th[=e]vz). [OE. thef, theef, AS. [thorn]e['o]f; akin to OFries. thiaf, OS. theof, thiof, D. dief, G. dieb, OHG. diob, Icel. [thorn]j[=o]fr, Sw. tjuf, Dan. tyv, Goth. [thorn]iufs, [thorn]iubs, and perhaps to Lith. tupeti to squat or crouch down. Cf. Theft.]1. One who steals; one who commits theft or larceny. See Theft. There came a privy thief, men clepeth death. --Chaucer. Where thieves break through and steal. --Matt. vi. 19. 2. A waster in the snuff of a candle. --Bp. Hall. Thief catcher. Same as Thief taker. Thief leader, one who leads or takes away a thief. --L'Estrange. Thief taker, one whose business is to find and capture thieves and bring them to justice. Thief tube, a tube for withdrawing a sample of a liquid from a cask. Thieves' vinegar, a kind of aromatic vinegar for the sick room, taking its name from the story that thieves, by using it, were enabled to plunder, with impunity to health, in the great plague at London. [Eng.] Syn: Robber; pilferer. Usage: Thief, Robber. A thief takes our property by stealth; a robber attacks us openly, and strips us by main force. Take heed, have open eye, for thieves do foot by night. --Shak. Some roving robber calling to his fellows. --Milton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : thief
Spanish:
ladrón,
German:
der, *die Dieb(in),
Japanese:
どろ棒
thief
O.E. þeof, from P.Gmc. *theubaz (cf. O.Fris. thiaf, O.S. thiof, M.Du. dief, O.H.G. diob, Ger. dieb, O.N. þiofr, Goth. þiufs), probably from PIE *teup- (cf. Lith. tupeti "to crouch down").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: thief
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural thieves
Etymology: Old English thEof
: one who commits theft
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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