Other Word Forms
- larcenously adverb
- nonlarcenous adjective
- unlarcenous adjective
- unlarcenously adverb
Etymology
Origin of larcenous
Explanation
Someone who's larcenous has a tendency to steal things. You can describe a classmate as larcenous if she proudly shows off the candy she's stolen from the corner store. Pickpockets, car thieves, and politicians who accept bribes are all larcenous — they are all motivated by a desire for financial gain and a willingness to take things that don't belong to them. This adjective comes from larceny, a fancy way to say "theft." Both words have their roots in the Latin latrocinium, "robbery," which comes from latro, "robber or bandit."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Finally, however, the lively and amiable spirit of the endeavor converts our inner curmudgeon just as the spirit of Christmas eventually overpowered that larcenous Grinch, played by Jim Carrey.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2022
Above and beyond is Bonnie Milligan, portraying Pattie’s larcenous sister Debra, a woman of no known address but who might be elected president if she could redirect that cyclonic energy away from antisocial impulses.
From Washington Post • Nov. 10, 2022
You have to look at footnote information — provenance citations in object labels — to learn of this larcenous history.
From New York Times • Jan. 6, 2022
Aladdin, a poor but engagingly larcenous “street rat” and sheltered princess Jasmine are kindred spirits in that they’re trapped by their circumstances and want to break free.
From Seattle Times • May 22, 2019
One thing saved him: the company—and larcenous advice—of the city’s homeless, many of them teenagers.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
