Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, December 22nd, 2024
the Fourth Week of Advent
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Bible Encyclopedias
Theft

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

Search for…
or
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Prev Entry
Thedor Matvyeevich Apraksin
Next Entry
Thegn
Resource Toolbox
Additional Links

the act of thieving or stealing. In English legal usage the practice is to call this act by its Norman-French name of "larceny," but properly theft is a wider term including other forms of wrongful deprivation of the property of another (see Larceny).

The O.E. word peof $e or pief ie is formed from peof, thief or peofian, to thieve, cf. Ger. Dieb, Du. dief, Goth. thiubs. The origin is not known. It may be related to Lithuanian tupeti, to crouch or squat down; thus "thief" would mean "one who hides himself." The O.E. stelan, to steal, appears also in other Teut. languages, cf. Du. stelen, Swed. stjcla, Goth, stillan, &c. It has been doubtfully connected with Gr. aTEpth', to deprive.

Bibliography Information
Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'Theft'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​bri/​t/theft.html. 1910.
 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile