Thief

Pl. thieves. Forms: 1 theb, þíof, þéof, (þéaf, þæf), 2 þof (dat. þove), 2–5 þeof, (3 dat. þeve), 3–4 þief, 3–5 þef, þeef, 4 þyef, þefe, 4–5 thef, -ff, thif, theyf, 4–6 thefe, 4–7 theif, theef, -ffe, 5 (þeue), thife, thyf(e, 5–6 theyff, 5–7 theefe, 6 theaf, theiff, thieffe, 6–7 thiefe, 6– thief. Pl. also 4 þewes; þeifs, þefs, theffes, 4–6 thefes. [OE. þíof, þéof (North. þéaf). Com. Teut.; in Fris. thiaf, OS. thiof (MDu., Du. dief, MLG. dief, dêf, LG. dêf, pl. dêven), OHG. diob, diup (MHG. diep, Ger. dieb); ON. þiófr (Sw. tiuf, Da. tyv), Goth. þiufs, þiuð- :—OTeut. *þeuðo^z, pointing to an Indo-Eur. ablaut-series *teup-, toup-, tup-: cf. Lith. tupēti to crouch down.

  The final f represents a ð or v of the stem, which appears in the inflexions and derivatives, as pl. thieves, vb. to thieve, thievery, thievish, etc.]

  1.  One who takes portable property from another without the knowledge or consent of the latter, converting it to his own use; one who steals.

  a.  spec. One who does this by stealth, esp. from the person; one who commits theft or larceny.

688–95.  Laws of Ine, c. 12. ʓif ðeof sie ʓefongen.

a. 900[?].  Durh. Adm., in O. E. T., 176. Wið netena unʓetionu & ðiofum.

c. 975.  Rushw. Gosp., Matt. vi. 19. Ne hydeþ eow hord … þær ðiofes [Lindisf. ðeafas, Ags. Gosp. ðeofas, Vulg. fures] adelfaþ ne forstelaþ.

c. 1000.  Ags. Gosp., Jobn x. 1. Se þe ne gæð at þam gete into sceapa falde, ac styhþ elles ofer he is þeof [Lind. ðeaf, Rush. ðæf] & sceaða [Vulg. fur et latro].

c. 1175.  Lamb. Hom., 29. Rubberes and þa reueres and þa þeoues.

a. 1200.  Moral Ode, 43 (Lamb. MS.). For þer ne þerf he bon of-dred of fure ne or þoue [v.r. þeve].

c. 1200.  Trin. Coll. Hom., 61. Oðer þurh fur, oðer þurh þiefes, oðer þurh roberie.

c. 1250.  Gen. & Ex., 1773. Ðu me ransakes als an ðef.

a. 1300.  St. Gregory, 997, in Herrig’s Archiv, LVII. 69. Þou þeefes fere, Þou ne dost bote make men of þe speke.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 4891–2 (Cott.). Yon er theues we lelmen wend, And theif [v.rr. thif, thefe, þeof] es he þam hider send. Ibid., 15970. Iudas was iesu aumnere, Bath theif [v.r. þeef] and traitur bald.

c. 1386.  Chaucer, Doctor’s T., 83. A theef [v.rr. theefe, þeef, þef, þeof] of venyson … Kan kepe a fforest best of any man.

1390.  Gower, Conf., I. 52. So that an yhe is as a thief To love, and doth ful gret meschief.

c. 1420.  Chron. Vilod., 2923. Bot þe Iaylardes folowedone þis theff fulle fast.

a. 1425.  Cursor M., 7234 (Trin.). Þer is noon so myche may greue As traitour derne & priue þeue.

14[?].  Nom., in Wr.-Wülcker, 694/1. Hic … fur, a theffe.

c. 1470.  Henry, Wallace, II. 392. I trow thow be sum spy, Or ellis a theyff.

1532–3.  Act 24 Hen. VIII., c. 5. An Acte where a Man kyllyng a Theffe shall not forfayte his Goodes.

1596.  Shaks., Merch. V., III. i. 97. The theefe gone with so much, and so much to finde the theefe, and no satisfaction, no reuenge.

1605.  Camden, Rem., 229. When thou commest into a strange place, thinke all men there to be theeves.

1643.  Sir T. Browne, Relig. Med., I. § 46. How comes He then like a theefe in the night?

1678.  Bunyan, Pilgr., I. 163. Thou art a Theif and a Robber. Ibid., 165. He did hang his head like a Thief.

1769.  Cook, Voy. round World, I. x. (1773), 100. The people of this country [Otaheite],… are the errantest thieves upon the face of the earth.

1878.  Stubbs, Const. Hist., III. xviii. 243. There is more spirit and a better heart in a robber than in a thief.

1879.  Jefferies, Wild Life in S. C., 160. The robin is accused of being a terrible thief of currants.

  b.  In more general sense, comprehending such as rob with violence; e.g., robbers, freebooters, pirates, etc.; now rare exc. as a general designation of one who obtains goods by fraudulent means, over-reaching, deceit, etc.

  Border thieves, the freebooters of the Scottish Border, whose depredations were so notorious in the 16th century. † Thief of the sea, a pirate, SEA-THIEF.

  In the Revised Version of the N. T., in all cases where thief in the 1611 version renders λῃστής, Vulg. latro, it is changed to robber, and thief only retained where it renders κλέπτης, Vulg fūr.

a. 700.  Epinal Gloss (O.E.T.), 630. Mimoparo, thebscib.

c. 950.  Lindisf. Gosp., Matt. xxi. 13. ʓie worhton ða ilca cofa (vel græfe) ðeafana [Vulg. latronum; c. 975 Rushw. Gosp., ibid., ʓescræfe ðiofas (vel scaþena), c. 1000 Ags. Gosp., þeofa cote].

c. 1000.  Ags. Gosp., Matt. xxvi. 55. Eall-swa to þeofe [Lindisf. mor-sceaðe, Rushw. scaþe, Vulg. latronem] ʓe synt cumene mid swurdum. Ibid., John xviii. 40. Witodlice barrabbas wæs þeof [Lindisf. morsceaðe, Rushw. sceaða, Vulg. latro, Gr. ληστής, Wyclif, Rhem. theef, theefe, Tindale, 1611 robber].

c. 1200.  Vices & Virt., 51. Betwenen twa þieues.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 10297 (Cott.). Stalworth men … Þat moght again þe theues [v.r. thefes] fight.

c. 1330.  R. Brunne, Chron. Wace (Rolls), 6631. Þise Sarsynes þeues þey drof awey.

1340.  Ayenb., 37. Þer ys a þyef open and a þyef ywreȝe, a þief priue and a þyef uelaȝe.

13[?].  E. E. Allit. P., B. 1142. Hit were rafte wyth vnryȝt & robbed wyth þewes.

1382.  Wyclif, Matt. xxvii. 38. Thanne two theeues [Vulg. latrones] ben crucified with him.

1387.  Trevisa, Higden (Rolls), I. 329. Þe men of þat lond beeþ schipmen and þeues of þe see.

1436.  Libel Eng. Policy, in Pol. Poems (Rolls), II. 164. The grettest rovers and the grettest thevys That have bene in the see many oone yere.

1533.  Gau, Richt Vay (S.T.S.), 93. The tirannis and oppressours and theyffis.

1567.  Sir R. Maitland, Complaynt, i. Of Liddisdaill the commoun theifis Sa pertlie steillis now and reifis, That nane may keip Hors, nolt, nor scheip: Nor yit dar sleip, For thair mischeifis. Ibid., iv. Thay thiefis have neirhand herreit haill Ettricke forest and Lawderdaill.

1651.  Hobbes, Leviath., I. x. 45. Till there were constituted great Commonwealths, it was thought no dishonour to be … a High-way Theefe.

1678.  R. L’Estrange, Seneca’s Mor., II. vii. (1705), 150. Nothing is more Common, than for Great Thieves to ride in Triumph, when the Little ones are punish’d.

1712.  trans. Arab. Nights (1785), 561/2. The Story of Ali Baba, and the Forty Thieves.

1892.  Kipling, Ballad of East & W., 24. Who rides at the tail of a Border thief, he sits not long at his meat.

  c.  In proverbial expressions.

c. 1230.  Hali Meid., 17. Man seið þat eise makeð þeof.

1539.  Taverner, Erasm. Prov. (1552), 65. Aske my felowe if I be a thefe.

1546.  J. Heywood, Prov. (1867), 20. A paterne, as meete as a rope for a theefe. Ibid. (1562), 151. When theeues fall out, trewe men come to their goode.

1670.  Ray, Prov., 129. Opportunity makes the thief. Ibid., 148. Set a thief to take a thief.

1791.  Bentham, Panopt., Wks. 1843, IV. 225. A sort of honour may be found (according to a proverbial saying) even among thieves.

1833.  [see THICK a. 10].

  d.  fig. That which steals or furtively takes away.

1742.  Young, Nt. Th., I. 393. Procrastination is the thief of time.

1838.  L. Hunt, Rondeau, 3. Time, you thief, who love to get Sweets into your list, put that in.

  2.  As a general term of reproach or opprobrium: Evil man, villain, scoundrel. (Still dial.)

1297.  R. Glouc. (Rolls), 5621. Þis þef þat lay bi neþe … smot þen king … in þe brust.

a. 1300.  K. Horn, 323. Hennes þu go, þu fule þeof.

13[?].  Cursor M., 786 (Fair.). He sayde þaire ioy walde be mykel Þis fals þefe þat was so fikel.

c. 1400.  Laud Troy Bk., 15271. This wicked theff Achilles Thi bretheren hath sclayn with-oute les.

c. 1425.  Cast. Persev., 1137, in Macro Plays, 111. For ilke man callyth oþer ‘hore & there.’

a. 1548.  Hall, Chron., Hen. IV., 12 b. Thou trayter thefe, thou hast bene a traitour to kyng Richard.

1653.  Holcroft, Procopius, Goth. Wars, III. 107. These Theeves alledge, to provoke you to a War, our holding Syrmium, and some other places in Dacia.

a. 1800.  Pegge, Suppl. Grose, Thief, a general term of reproach, not confined to stealing.

1893.  Stevenson, Catriona, ix. 102. Yon thief of the black midnight, Simon Fraser.

  b.  Old (auld), ill thief: the Devil. Sc. dial.

1789.  Burns, To Dr. Blacklock, ii. The ill-thief blaw the Heron south!

1822.  Hogg, Perils of Man, III. 38. Cuffed about by the ‘auld thief’ as they styled him.

1893.  Westm. Gaz., 21 Feb., 9/2. What does D stand for?—The first letter o’ the Auld Thief’s name.

  3.  transf. † a. Applied to a goshawk (obs.). † b. A kind of wild bee said to rob hives (obs.). c. A shoot from the root of a vine, rose-bush, or other trained shrub, which robs the main stem of its strength. d. Mod. slang. A horse that does not run up to form in a race.

1486.  Bk. St. Albans, d ij. A Goshawke shulde not flie to any fowle of the Ryuer with bellis in no wise, and therfore a Goshawke is calde a theef.

1608.  Topsell, Serpents (1658), 650. Some have thought that Theeves are one proper sort of Bees, although they be very great, and black, having a larger belly or bulk then the true Bee, and yet lesser then the drones.

1658.  Rowland, Moufet’s Theat. Ins., 920. The Theeves being naturally odious to the Bees, steal upon their labours when they are absent, wasting and spoyling their provision of honey.

1669.  J. Rose, Eng. Vineyard (1675), 28. Rubbing off the thieves which sprung from the roots of the plant.

1896.  J. Porter, Kingsclere, 126–7. Gay Hampton had been done with after he carried off the Craven. It was a case of Hobson’s choice, for he turned out a terrible ‘thief,’ and a savage.

  4.  ‘An excrescence in the snuff of a candle’ (J.) that causes it to gutter and waste.

1628.  May, Virg. Georg., I. 436. Theeues about the snuffe doe grow.

a. 1633.  Fletcher & Shirley, Night-Walker, II. i. Methinks the light burns blew, I prethee snuff it, There’s a thief in’t I think.

1642.  Howell, For. Trav. (Arb.), 77. If there bee a theefe in the Candle, (as wee use to say commonly) there is a way to pull it out.

1665.  Boyle, Occas. Reflect., II. x. Upon a Thief in a Candle.

1796.  Mme. D’Arblay, Camilla, II. 497. [He] perceived a thief in the candle, which made it run down … over his hand and the sleeve of his coat.

1824.  Lamb, Lett. to Barton, 9 Jan. My wick hath a thief in it, but I can’t muster courage to snuff it.

  5.  attrib. and Comb., as thief-catching, -colony, -craft, -detector, -maker; thief-proof, -resisting, -stolen adjs.; thief and reever bell: see quots.; thief-bote: see THEFT-BOOT; thief-catcher, (a) one who catches thieves; = THIEF-TAKER; (b) a device used formerly in apprehending thieves; thief-key, a skeleton key; † thief-land, a name for Botany Bay; † thief-leader, a thief-taker; thief-tube: see quot.; † thef-wyke: see quot. Also with thieves’, as thieves’ cant: see quots.; thieves’ hole, a dungeon reserved for thieves; thieves’ Latin, cant used by thieves; thieves’ vinegar, an infusion of rosemary tops, sage leaves, etc., in vinegar, formerly esteemed as an antidote against the plague. Also THIEF-LIKE, -TAKER.

  1777.  Brand, Pop. Antiq., 17. A Bell, usually called the *Thief and Reever Bell, proclaims our two annual Fairs.

1825.  Brockett, N. C. Words, Thief and Reever-Bell, the name given to the tolling of the great bell of Saint Nicholas, Newcastle, which is rung at 8 o’clock of the evening preceding every fair.

1732.  Hist. Litteraria, IV. 83. The Draper, to engage the *Thief-catcher to his Interests, made him a Present of a Suit of Clothes.

1891.  Daily News, 6 Nov., 3/1. The thief-catcher … is a shrewd piece of work, from which no head, leg, or arm could extricate itself once caught.

1737.  Gentl. Mag., VII. 592/1. I do not know that the Army has ever been employed in any sort of *Thief-catching, except with respect to those Thieves called Smugglers.

1786.  A. Dalrymple (title), A Serious Admonition to the Publick, on the Intended *Thief-Colony at Botany Bay.

1859.  W. Anderson, Disc. (1860), 291. Adepts in the fashionable *thief-craft.

1909.  Cent. Dict., Suppl., *Thief-detector … a delicate microphone designed for seismological studies, but so arranged by Milne that it gives notice of tremors produced by the gentlest footstep in its neighborhood.

1820.  Examiner, No. 614. 39/2. Inauspicious unliterary *Thiefland.

1692.  R. L’Estrange, Fables, cccclxvii. 441. A Wolf had the Fortune to pass by, as the *Thief-Leaders were Dragging a … Fox to the Place of Execution.

1856.  G. Price (title), A Treatise on Fire & *Thief-proof Depositories.

1904.  Daily Chron., 29 Sept., 1/6. Safes…, fire and *thief-resisting.

1551.  Robinson, trans. More’s Utop., I. (1895), 66. The Kynge; whome they thynke to haue no more ryghte to the *thefe stolen thynge than the thieffe himselfe hath.

1611.  Shaks., Cymb., I. vi. 5. Had I bin Theefe-stolne.

1877.  Knight, Dict. Mech., *Thief-tube, a tube for withdrawing of liquids from casks, etc. A sampling-tube; a ve-linche.

c. 1350.  in Eng. Gilds (1870), 350. Þer sholde be twey baylyues y-swore in þe Citee, and treweleche þe *þefwyke wytye.

  1867.  Smyth, Sailor’s Word-bk., *Thieves’ Cat, a cat-o’-nine-tails having knots upon it … used for the punishment of theft.

1899.  Daily News, 19 Sept., 6/3. The ‘cat’ used at Macquarie Harbour … was called ‘the thief’s cat,’ or ‘double cat o’ nine-tails.’

1578.  Burgh Rec. Edinb. (1882), IV. 86. For … dichting of the new wall, clenging of the *thevis hoill, and the vther the commoun affaris.

1864.  A. McKay, Hist. Kilmarnock (1880), 45. A loathsome dungeon called the Thieves’-hole.

1821.  Scott, Kenilw., xxix. A very learned man … and can vent Greek and Hebrew as fast as I can *thieves’-Latin.

1840.  Comic Lat. Gram., 16. Thieves’ Latin, more commonly known by the name of slang…. Examples, to prig a wipe—to steal a handkerchief [etc.].

1802.  Mrs. J. West, Infidel Father, III. 5. Conversation was for some days confined to ipecacuanha, *thieves’ vinegar, and smoked tobacco.