purloin

verb /pɜːˈlɔɪn/

1. To take the property of another, often in breach of trust; to appropriate wrongfully; to steal.

   transitive

   Had from his wakeful custody purloined / The guarded gold.

2. To commit theft; to thieve.

   intransitive

   The Apostle expressly forbiddeth servants to purloin (Titus 2:10).

Where it comes from

From Middle English purloynen (“to remove”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman purloigner (“to put far away”), one of the variants of Old French porloignier. Doublet of prolong.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry purloin (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← purlinpurparty →

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