theft

B1 Topic:Crime & Justice

US /ˈθɛft/ UK /θɛft/ See IPA manual

Freq #4681

Meanings

1

noun
The crime of stealing something.

He was arrested for the theft of a car.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the crime of stealing... burglary larceny robbery

Word family

Forms thefts

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

identity theft
the fraudulent use of another person's personal information without permission

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English theft, thefte, þefte, þefþe, þiefþe, Old English þīefþ, from Proto-West Germanic *þiubiþu, from Proto-Germanic *þiubiþō, from *þeubaz (“thief”), equivalent to thief or thieve + -t (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Old Frisian thiuvethe, thiufthe (“theft”), dialectal Dutch diefte (“theft”), obsolete German Diebde (“theft”), Icelandic þýfð (“theft”).

theft Middle English þīefþ Old English *þiubiþu Proto-West Germanic *þiubiþō Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Crime & Justice

External links

# theft

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈθɛft/
**IPA (UK):** /θɛft/
**Frequency rank:** 4681

## Meanings
1. The crime of stealing something.

## Examples
- He was arrested for the theft of a car.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: theft
- Root: þīefþ
- Root: *þiubiþu
- Root: *þiubiþō

## Etymology
From Middle English theft, thefte, þefte, þefþe, þiefþe, Old English þīefþ, from Proto-West Germanic *þiubiþu, from Proto-Germanic *þiubiþō, from *þeubaz (“thief”), equivalent to thief or thieve + -t (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Old Frisian thiuvethe, thiufthe (“theft”), dialectal Dutch diefte (“theft”), obsolete German Diebde (“theft”), Icelandic þýfð (“theft”).

## AI Etymology
Theft is from Middle English theft, thefte, þefte, þefþe, þiefþe, Old English þīefþ, from Proto-West Germanic *þiubiþu, from Proto-Germanic *þiubiþō, from *þeubaz (“thief”), equivalent to thief or thieve + -t (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Old Frisian thiuvethe, thiufthe (“theft”), dialectal Dutch diefte (“theft”), obsolete German Diebde (“theft”), Icelandic þýfð (“theft”). In present-day use, it means the crime of stealing something.

## Topics
- Crime & Justice

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