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filch

[ filch ]
/ fɪltʃ /
||
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verb (used with object)

to steal (especially something of small value); pilfer: to filch ashtrays from fancy restaurants.

RELATED WORDS

purloin, pilfer, embezzle, misappropriate, cop, thieve, pinch, rob, swipe, sneak, crib, lift, take, scrounge, snitch, hustle, snipe

Nearby words

  1. filasse,
  2. filate,
  3. filatov flap,
  4. filature,
  5. filbert,
  6. filcher,
  7. filchner ice shelf,
  8. file,
  9. file band,
  10. file card

Origin of filch

1250–1300; Middle English filchen to attack (in a body), take as booty, Old English fylcian to marshal (troops), draw (soldiers) up in battle array, derivative of gefylce band of men; akin to folk
Related formsfilch·er, nounfilch·ing·ly, adverbun·filched, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for filch

British Dictionary definitions for filch

filch

/ (fɪltʃ) /

verb

(tr) to steal or take surreptitiously in small amounts; pilfer
Derived Formsfilcher, noun

Word Origin for filch

C16 filchen to steal, attack, perhaps from Old English gefylce band of men
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for filch

filch

v.

"steal," 1560s, slang, perhaps from c.1300 filchen "to snatch, take as booty," of unknown origin. Liberman says filch is probably from German filzen "comb through." Related: Filched; filching.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper