purloin

[per-loin, pur-loin]

verb (used with object)

1. to take dishonestly; steal; filch; pilfer.

verb (used without object)

1. to commit theft; steal.

purloin

/ pɜːˈlɔɪn /

verb

1. to take (something) dishonestly; steal

Other Word Forms

• purloiner noun
• unpurloined adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of purloin¹

First recorded in 1325–50; Middle English purloynen, from Anglo-French purloigner, Old French porloigner “to put off, remove,” equivalent to pur- (from Latin prō- pro- ¹ ) + -loigner, derivative of loin “at a distance, far off,” from Latin longē “a long way off,” adverb of longus “long” ( long ¹ ( def. ) )

Word History and Origins

Origin of purloin¹

C15: from Old French porloigner to put at a distance, from por- for + loin distant, from Latin longus long

Example Sentences

A simple but effective way to stop auto bandits from purloining your key fob signal is to use a Faraday bag or pouch.

Read more on Seattle Times

According to the previously unreported federal conviction, Bird, then 30 and living in Sunnyside, Yakima County, falsified a 1991 credit application “with intent to steal and purloin” funds from U.S.

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Four middle-aged suspects were arrested in Southern California this week when officers found them in possession of roughly $300,000 worth of purloined Lego sets, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He now plays Arthur, an Englishman in 1980s Italy with a mysterious gift for finding Etruscan tombs, which he and his crew then rob, selling the purloined artifacts to an antiquities dealer.

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However the records Trump purloined are characterized, it remains a crime under the Espionage Act to willfully retain national defense information, which the documents at the center of this case clearly are.

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Related Words

• embezzle 
• filch 
• misappropriate 
• pilfer