English

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

From Middle English thef, theef, þef, from Old English þēof, from Proto-West Germanic *þeub, from Proto-Germanic *þeubaz. Spelling from Northern England, where /eːo/ became [iə] rather than [eː]. (Compare the spelling of deep from Old English deop.)

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

thief (plural thieves)

  1. One who carries out a theft.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:thief
  2. One who steals another person's property, especially by stealth and without using force or violence.
  3. (obsolete) A waster in the snuff of a candle.
    • 1640, Joseph Hall, Divine Light:
      But hear you, my Worthy Brethren: do not you, where you see a thief in the candle, call presently for an extinguisher []

Hypernyms

edit

Hyponyms

edit

Derived terms

edit
edit

Translations

edit

Anagrams

edit