purloin

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   formal or humorous: to steal or wrongfully take something, often secretly or in breach of trust

   Someone purloined a loaf of bread from the kitchen window.

From Middle English purloinen, 'to remove,' borrowed from Anglo-Norman purloigner and Old French porloignier, 'to put far away.' The French form combined an intensifying prefix with loing, 'far.' The sense shifted from removing or concealing something to taking it dishonestly; prolong is a doublet.

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External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
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