Thief

Definition: Thief

Thief

Noun

1. A criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it.

Date "thief" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Etymology: Thief \Thief\ (th[=e]f), noun; plural Thieves(th[=e]vz). [Old English thef, theef, Anglo-Saxon [thorn]e['o]f; akin to Old Flemmish thiaf, Old Saxon theof, thiof, Dutch dief, German dieb, Old High German diob, Icelandic [thorn]j[=o]fr, Swedish tjuf, Danish tyv, Gothic [thorn]iufs, [thorn]iubs, and perhaps to Lithuanian t. (references)

Specialty Definition: Thief

Domain	Definition
Chemistry	A narrow tube into which fluid is drawn by suction and retained by closing the upper end. Source: European Union. (references)
Dream Interpretation	To dream of being a thief and that you are pursued by officers, is a sign that you will meet reverses in business, and your social relations will be unpleasant. If you pursue or capture a thief, you will overcome your enemies. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted ....
Slang in 1811	THIEF. You are a thief and a murderer, you have killed a baboon and stole his face; vulgar abuse. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Bad Man	Thief; murderer, terrorist.
Concealment	Underhand, by stealth, like a thief in the night; stealthily; Adjective: behind the scenes, behind the curtain, behind one's back, behind a screen; incognito; in camera.
Evil doer	Savage, brute, ruffian, barbarian, semibarbarian, caitiff, desperado; Apache, hoodlum, hood, plug-ugly, pug-ugly, Red Skin, tough; Mohawk, Mo-hock, Mo-hawk; bludgeon man, bully, rough, hooligan, larrikin, dangerous classes, ugly customer; thief.
Improbity	Adverb: dishonestly; Adjective: mala fide, like a thief in the night, by crooked paths.
Inexpectation	Adverb: abruptly, unexpectedly, surprisingly; plump, pop, a l'improviste, unawares; without notice, without warning, without a "by your leave"; like a thief in the night, like a thunderbolt; in an unguarded moment; suddenly; (instantaneously).
Stealing	Rob Peter to pay Paul, borrow of Peter to pay Paul; set a thief to catch a thief.
	Thief.
Thief	Spoiler, depredator, pillager, marauder; harpy, shark, land shark, falcon, mosstrooper, bushranger, Bedouin, brigand, freebooter, bandit, thug, dacoit; pirate, corsair, viking, Paul Jones, buccaneer, buccanier; piqueerer, pickeerer; rover, ranger, privateer, filibuster; rapparee, wrecker, picaroon; smuggler, poacher; abductor, badger, bunko man, cattle thief, chor, contrabandist, crook, hawk, holdup man, hold-up, jackleg, kidnaper, rustler, cattle rustler, sandbagger, sea king, skin, sneak thief, spieler, strong-arm man.
	Noun: thief, robber, homo triumliterarum, pilferer, rifler, filcher, plagiarist.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	That jewel thief movie, for example (Being John Malkovich; writing credit: Charlie Kaufman) I said, since you don't have much success as a thief, you should try a new career (The Shawshank Redemption; writing credit: Frank Darabont) After all your posturing, all your speeches, you're nothing but a common thief. (Die Hard; writing credit: Jeb Stuart) And let me say this, with love in my heart: Countess, you are a thief. The wallet of the gentleman in 253, 5, 7 and 9 is in your possession (Trouble in Paradise; writing credit: Aladar Laszlo; Grover Jones) I've heard enough of this scrawny thief! I will break the tie and be your leader, by force if necessary (Beast Wars: Transformers; writing credit: Bob Forward; Lawrence G. DiTillio)
Lyrics	I've seen it coming like a thief in the night, (Turn Back Time; performing artist: Aqua) Said the joker to the thief ("All Along the Watchtower"; performing artist: Jimi Hendrix) The thief he kindly spoke ("All Along the Watchtower"; performing artist: Jimi Hendrix) Because life is so brief and time is a thief when you're undecided (YOUNG TURKS; performing artist: Rod Stewart) The greatest thief in the high Sahara (After The Rain Has Fallen; performing artist: Sting)
Clever	A thief passes for a gentleman, when stealing has made him rich. (references; author: Ancient Proverb)
Movie/TV Titles	The Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973) A Thief in the Night (1972) Thief (1971) It Takes a Thief (1968) Jewel Thief (1967)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Title
Books	The Thief of Always (reference) Thief of Time (reference) (more book examples)

Theater & Movies	The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (reference) Brother Cadfael, Set 4 (The Pilgrim of Hate / The Holy Thief / The Potter's Field) (reference) The Thief of Bagdad (reference) The Eagle / The Thief of Baghdad (reference) The Thief of Baghdad (reference) (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music	It Takes a Thief [EXPLICIT LYRICS] (reference) The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989 Film) [SOUNDTRACK] (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

High Tech	Thief 2: The Metal Age (reference) Thief Gold (reference) (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Virtuous Harry, or set a thief to catch a thief!. Credit: Library of Congress.		The traitor, the thief, the liar, the murderess, the criminal sits there. Credit: Library of Congress.
	Carey Judson, I declare you frighten me : you look as guilty as a hen house thief. Credit: Library of Congress.		Stop thief!. Credit: Library of Congress.
	"Stop thief!". Credit: Library of Congress.		Homer Tate, self-trained artist, looking at his model of a hanged horse thief. Safford, Arizona. Credit: Library of Congress.
	Negro superstition, the doo di doo bush, -- or which is the thief / R. Bridgens del. et lith. ; Day & Haghe Lith to the King. Credit: Library of Congress.		What's the difference between a thief and a tax collector? : no difference. Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Play	Caption
	Burglar; breaking and entering; thief; alarm; police; security; .
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Author	Quotation
Ancient Proverb	A thief passes for a gentleman, when stealing has made him rich.
Aristotle	Every rascal is not a thief, but every thief is a rascal.
Francis Bacon	Opportunity makes a thief.
John Milton	How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth, stolen on his wing my three-and-twentieth year!
Napoleon Bonaparte	You can prevent a man from robbing you, but you can't stop him from being a thief.
Oscar Wilde	He was always late on principle, his principle being that punctuality is the thief of time.
Robert Browning	Our interest's on the dangerous edge of things. The honest thief, the tender murderer, the superstitious atheist.
William Shakespeare	The robb'd that smiles steals something from the thief.
	Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind; the thief doth fear each bush an officer.
	The jury, passing on the prisoner's life, may have in the sworn twelve a thief or two guiltier than him they try.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Author	Date	Quotation
John Locke	1690	Nor does it at all alter the case to say, I gave my promise, no more than it excuses the force, and passes the right, when I put my hand in my pocket, and deliver my purse myself to a thief, who demands it with a pistol at my breast. (Second Treatise of Government)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Title	Author	Quote
Les Miserables	Hugo, Victor	At the words of Javert, Fantine had trembled and dropped the latch, as a thief who is caught, drops what he has stolen
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Business		To highlight the break-in problem, a recent magazine article compared the men's 100 meter Olympic final with the time it takes a professional thief to overcome the locks of certain makes of cars. Both took around ten seconds. (references)
Civil Liberties	Zambia	Nawakwi had called President Chiluba a thief in public remarks, which Saluseki subsequently reported in the Post. (references)
Human Rights	Congo	Also in November in Songholo, citizens allegedly lynched a thief. (references)
	Burkina Faso	For example, in April army recruits in Mouhoun Province, in the western part of the country, beat a suspected thief. (references)
Political Economy	DOMINICAN REPUBLIC	Patents: Patents are difficult to receive and enforce against a determined intellectual property thief. (references)
Travel	Guatemala	It is generally accepted advice not to resist a would-be thief or mugger. (references)
	Switzerland	A typical scam used against businessmen is for a thief to grab an attache case in a hotel or airport while an accomplice distracts the victim. (references)
Lexicography	Devil's Dictionary	ERUDITION, n. Dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull. So wide his erudition's mighty span, He knew Creation's origin and plan And only came by accident to grief -- He thought, poor man, 'twas right to be a thief. Romach Pute
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Speaker	Term	Phrase(s)
George Bush	1989-1993	Inflation, that thief, is down, and interest rates are down.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	98.73%	699	9,549
Noun (proper)	1.13%	8	124,375
Noun (common)	0.14%	1	339,140
Total	100.00%	708	N/A

Expressions using "thief": car thief ♦ cattle thief ♦ hotel thief ♦ like a thief in the night ♦ Liquor thief ♦ opportunity makes the thief ♦ panel thief ♦ penitent thief ♦ petty thief ♦ rod thief ♦ sea thief ♦ set a thief to catch a thief ♦ sneak thief ♦ Thief catcher ♦ Thief leader ♦ Thief River Fall ♦ Thief River Falls ♦ Thief taker ♦ Thief tube ♦ water thief ♦ wheat thief ♦ woman thief. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "thief": thief-like, thief-proof, thief-resistant, thief-taker, thief-takers.
	Ending with "thief": horse-thief.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Language		Translations for "thief"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Afrikaans		dief. (various references)

Albanian		vjedhës (burglar, cat burglar, cracksman, hooker, larcenous, lurcher, peculator, pickpocket, pilferer, prig, robber, sneak), hajdut (burglar, crack, crook, Cutpurse, pilferer, robber, stealer, yegg), bandit (bandit, brigand, gangster, gorilla, gun, gunman, mosstrooper, outlaw, picaroon, reaver, reiver, rover, thug). (various references)

Arabic		‏لص (bandit, brigand, burglar, creep, housebreaker, picklock, robber, yegg), ‏سارق (burglar, pirate, thievish), ‏السارق (pilferer, robber). (various references)

Bulgarian		крадец (lifter, mugger, picklock, prig, robber). (various references)

Catalan		lladre. (various references)

Chinese		賊 (bestow, confer), 窃贼 (Thieves), 竊賊 , 小偷 . (various references)

Czech		zlodìj (burglar, prig, robber, yeggman), zloděj (robber). (various references)

Danish		tyv. (various references)

Dutch		steler, dief (side shoot, sucker). (various references)

Esperanto		ŝtelisto, ŝtelistino (female thief). (various references)

Farsi		سارق (Robber), دزد (Burglar, Hobgoblin, Peculator, Picaroonp, Piker, Robber, Stealer). (various references)

Finnish		varas (marauder, plunderer), pipetti (pipet, pipette, rod thief), näytteenottoputki (pipet, pipette, rod thief). (various references)

French		voleur (thievish). (various references)

German		Dieb (burglar, filcher, larcenist, mugger, pilferer, plunder, purloiner, scrounger, theft, thieve). (various references)

Greek		κλέφτησ (lifter, robber), συρρίγγιο (pipet, pipette, rod thief), σίφωνας (pipet, pipette, rod thief, siphon, spout), προχοϊδα (buret, burette, pipet, pipette, rod thief), πιπέτα (buret, burette, pipet, pipette, rod thief), λωποδύτησ (pickpocket, pilferer). (various references)

Hebrew		גנב (burglar, robber, sneak thief, snitch, steal). (various references)

Hungarian		tolvaj (burglar, filch, larcener, larcenist, lurcher, nicker, picklock, pilferer, pincher, purloiner, scrounge, scrounger, stealer, sticky fingers, taker). (various references)

Icelandic		þjófur. (various references)

Indonesian		pencuri (burglar), pencoleng, pencilok (pick pocket), bajingan (crook, knave, rascal, rogue, tramp), alap-alap (hawk). (various references)

Irish		gadaí. (various references)

Language	Period	Translations
Greek	700 BCE-300 CE	kleptes. (various references)
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	aversor, clepta, ereptor, fur, fure, furem, fures, furibus, furis, furs, furum, phur, phurim, praedo, praedones, praedonum, raptor. (various references)
Classical Hebrew	200 BCE-Modern	gannabh. (various references)
Avestan	200-600	tâyush. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
thief	650	thief through walk	60
hail thief	459	grand thief auto	56
hail radiohead thief	399	thief ii	55
car thief	220	thief cheat	46
hail lyrics thief	202	to catch a thief	40
hail lyrics radiohead thief	189	once a thief	39
orchid thief	181	cheat thief 2	38
thief 3	172	auto city grand thief vice	37
thief river falls minnesota	159	kidney lyrics thief	32
hail review thief	148	jewel thief	32
kidney thief	130	princess of thief	31
thief 2	119	hail tab thief	31
hail radiohead review thief	105	bicycle thief	30
the good thief	85	sporty thief	30
robin hood prince of thief	84	forty thief	27
thief the dark project	79	grand thief auto 3	25
thief river falls	70	thief gold	24
4 car thief	65	smack thief	22
thief 2 walk through	63	behead chief great head hew it like not seemly thief wound	22
site thief	61	thief river falls times	21
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Language	Date	Source	John Chapter 12, Verse 6
Greek (transliterated)	250 BC	Septuagint	Eipen de touto ouc oti peri twn ptwcwn emelen autw all oti klepthV hn kai to glwssokomon eicen kai ta ballomena ebastazen
Latin	405	Vulgate	Dixit autem hoc non quia de egenis pertinebat ad eum sed quia fur erat et loculos habens ea quae mittebantur portabat
Old English	990	West Saxon	Ða cwæð se hælend. Læt hyo þt hyohealde þæt oð þane dayg; þe man meberige.
Middle English	1395	Wyclif	But he seide this thing, not for it perteynede to hym of nedi men, but for he was a theef, and he hadde the pursis, and bar tho thingis that weren sent.
Renaissance English	1526	Tyndale	This sayde he not that he cared for the pooer: but because he was a thefe and kept the bagge and bare that which was geven.
Jacobean English	1611	King James	This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
Victorian English	1833	Webster	This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bore what was put in it.
Basic English	1964	Ogden	(He said this, not because he had any love for the poor; but because he was a thief, and, having the money-bag, took for himself what was put into it.)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Language	John Chapter 12, Verse 6
Cebuano	Kini gisulti niya, dili tungod kay siya may kahangawa alang sa mga kabus, kondili tungod kay siya kawatan man; ug kay siya mao man ang magtitipig sa panudlanan sa kuwarta, ang igasulod niini iyang pagakapnan.
Croatian	To ne reèe zbog toga što mu bijaše stalo do siromaha, nego što bijaše kradljivac: kako je imao kesu, kradom je uzimao što se u nju stavljalo.
Danish	Men dette sagde han, ikke fordi han brød sig om de fattige, men fordi han var en Tyv og havde Pungen og bar, hvad der blev lagt deri.
Dutch	En dit zeide hij, niet omdat hij bezorgd was voor de armen, maar omdat hij een dief was, en de beurs had, en droeg hetgeen gegeven werd.
Finnish	Mutta tätä hän ei sanonut sentähden, että olisi pitänyt huolta köyhistä, vaan sentähden, että hän oli varas ja että hän rahakukkaron hoitajana otti itselleen, mitä siihen oli pantu.
French	Il disait cela, non qu`il se mît en peine des pauvres, mais parce qu`il était voleur, et que, tenant la bourse, il prenait ce qu`on y mettait.
German	Das sagte er aber nicht, daß er nach den Armen fragte; sondern er war ein Dieb und hatte den Beutel und trug, was gegeben ward.
Hungarian	Ezt pedig nem azért mondá, mintha néki a szegényekre volna gondja, hanem mivelhogy tolvaj vala, és nála vala az erszény, és amit abba tesznek vala, elcsené.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari	Yudas berkata begitu bukan karena ia memperhatikan orang miskin, tetapi karena ia pencuri. Ia sering mengambil uang dari kas bersama yang disimpan padanya.
Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama	Maka Yudas berkata demikian itu, bukan sebab diindahkannya hal orang miskin, melainkan sebab ia pencuri, dan memegang pundi-pundi serta mengambil uang yang dimasukkan ke dalamnya.
Italian	Questo egli disse non perché gl'importasse dei poveri, ma perché era ladro e, siccome teneva la cassa, prendeva quello che vi mettevano dentro.
Maori	I korerotia ai tenei e ia, ehara i te mea he whakaaro nona ki te hunga rawakore; erangi no te mea he tahae ia, i a ia hoki te putea, ko ia hoki hei mau i nga mea i whaongia ki roto.
Norwegian	Men dette sa han, ikke fordi de fattige lå ham på hjerte, men fordi han var en tyv og hadde pungen og tok det som blev lagt i den.
Portuguese	Ora, ele disse isto, não porque tivesse cuidado dos pobres, mas porque era ladrão e, tendo a bolsa, subtraía o que nela se lançava.
Rumanian	Zicea lucrul acesta nu pentrucq purta grijq de sqraci, ci pentrucq era un hoy, wi, ca unul care yinea punga, lua el ce se punea kn ea.
Shuar	Kame Kuítrinchan Enentáimtak Tíchamiayi. Antsu unuiniamu Kuítrin wainkia asa Yúpichuch kasamkamniuyayi. Tuma asa nuna Tímiayi.
Swahili	Alisema hivyo, si kwa kuwa alijali chochote juu ya maskini, bali kwa sababu alikuwa mweka hazina, na kwa kuwa alikuwa mwizi, mara kwa mara aliiba kutoka katika hiyo hazina.
Swedish	Detta sade han, icke därför, att han frågade efter de fattiga, utan därför, att han var en tjuv och plägade taga vad som lades i penningpungen, vilken han hade om hand.
Uma	Kakoo-kono-na, Yudas uma kamposaile' -na mpu'u tokabu. Api' katomanako-nadi! Apa' hi'a to ntimamahi doi-ra, pai' pontu-na na'ala' bongo.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Misspellings
	"Thief" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: heiff, hief, Othniel, thaer, theef, thef, thei, theid, theief, theif, theift, theik, theil, Theix, thia, thiaf, thide, thied, thieft, thieg, thiel, thiem, thien, thieo, thier, thige, thile, thiod, thiof, thiog, thite, thize, thuf, Thyer, tief, tiefe, tieff, tiif, tiof, toife, trief. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "thief" (pronounced thē"f)
2	-ē" f	beef, belief, brief, chief, debrief, disbelief, fief, grief, Keef, kief, leaf, lief, massif, motif, reef, Reif, relief, Seif, Sharif, sheaf.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "e-f-h-i-t"
	-1 letter: heft.
	-2 letters: eft, eth, feh, fet, fie, fit, het, hie, hit, the, tie.
	-3 letters: ef, eh, et, he, hi, if, it, ti.
	Words containing the letters "e-f-h-i-t"
	+1 letter: fetich, fetish.
	+2 letters: faithed, fighter, fishnet, fitchee, fitches, fitchet, fitchew, freight, heftier, heftily, hefting, leftish, refight, shifted, shifter, whiffet.
	+3 letters: chiefest, etherify, fenthion, fetching, fetiches, fetishes, fiftieth, fighters, filthier, fishiest, fishnets, fitchets, fitchews, flichter, flighted, flitched, flitches, fortieth, freights, frighted, frighten, frothier, halftime, heftiest, helilift, huffiest, prefight, redshift, refights, shifters, shiftier, thurifer, tilefish, whiffets, whitefly.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Thief

Definition: Thief

Thief

Noun

Specialty Definition: Thief

Specialty Definition: Theft

Thief

Thief (video game)

Synonym: Thief

Synonyms within Context: Thief

Bad Man

Concealment

Evil doer

Improbity

Inexpectation

Stealing

Thief

Crosswords: Thief

Modern Usage: Thief

Screenplays

Lyrics

Clever

Movie/TV Titles

Commercial Usage: Thief

Books

Theater & Movies

Music

High Tech

Image Slideshow: Thief

Illustrations:Thief

Computer Images:Thief

Photo Album: Thief

Digital Photo Gallery: Thief

Sounds Captioned with "Thief".

Familiar Quotations: Thief

Ancient Proverb

Aristotle

Francis Bacon

John Milton

Napoleon Bonaparte

Oscar Wilde

Robert Browning

William Shakespeare

Historic Usage: Thief

John Locke

Use in Literature: Thief

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

Non-Fiction Usage: Thief

Lexicography

Devil's Dictionary

Speeches: Thief

George Bush

Usage Frequency: Thief

Expression: Thief

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Thief

Modern Translation: Thief

Afrikaans

Albanian

Arabic

Bulgarian

Catalan

Chinese

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Esperanto

Farsi

Finnish

French

German

Greek

Hebrew

Hungarian

Icelandic

Indonesian

Irish

Italian

Japanese Kanji

Japanese Katakana

Illustrations:
Thief

Computer Images:
Thief