purloin

[ per-loin, pur-loin ]

verb (used with object)

1. to take dishonestly; steal; filch; pilfer.

verb (used without object)

1. to commit theft; steal.

purloin

/ pɜːˈlɔɪn /

verb

1. to take (something) dishonestly; steal

Derived Forms

• purˈloiner, noun

Other Words From

• pur·loiner noun
• unpur·loined adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of purloin¹

First recorded in 1325–50; Middle English purloynen, from Anglo-French purloigner, Old French porloigner “to put off, remove,” equivalent to pur- (from Latin prō- pro- ¹ ) + -loigner, derivative of loin “at a distance, far off,” from Latin longē “a long way off,” adverb of longus “long” ( long ¹( def ) )

Word History and Origins

Origin of purloin¹

C15: from Old French porloigner to put at a distance, from por- for + loin distant, from Latin longus long

Example Sentences

According to the previously unreported federal conviction, Bird, then 30 and living in Sunnyside, Yakima County, falsified a 1991 credit application “with intent to steal and purloin” funds from U.S.

From Seattle Times

That's why he has to purloin someone else's work in order to finish off his novel.

From Salon

"The former president's behavior may have invited charges, but the Republicans' spineless support for the past two years convinced Mr. Trump of his political immortality, giving him the assurance that he could purloin some of the nation's most sensitive national security secrets upon leaving the White House — and preposterously insist that they were his to do with as he wished — all without facing political consequences," Luttig wrote.

From Salon

The pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was purloin.

From New York Times

He bragged that he would be happy to purloin the 2024 election, noting: “I get to appoint the secretary of state who’s delegated from me the power to make the corrections to elections, the voting logs and everything. I could decertify every machine in the state with a stroke of a pen via the secretary of state.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• embezzle
• filch
• misappropriate
• pilfer