steal

steal
\ \ [OE] Steal comes from a prehistoric Germanic base *stel-. This also produced German stehlen, Dutch stelen, Swedish stjäla, and Danish stjæle, but its ultimate ancestry is unknown. The derived stealth [13] originally meant ‘theft’ (‘I know my lord hath spent of Timon’s wealth, and now ingratitude makes it worse than stealth’, Shakespeare, Timon of Athens 1607), but this has gradually been ousted by the metaphorical ‘furtiveness’. Stalkfollow furtively’ comes from the same Germanic base.
\ \ Cf.STALK, STEALTH

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • steal´er — steal «steel», verb, stole, sto|len, steal|ing, noun. –v.t. 1. to take (something) that does not belong to one; take dishonestly: »Robbers stole the money. Who steals my purse, st …   Useful english dictionary

  • Steal — (st[=e]l), v. t. [imp. {Stole} (st[=o]l); p. p. {Stolen} (st[=o] l n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Stealing}.] [OE. stelen, AS. stelan; akin to OFries. stela, D. stelen, OHG. stelan, G. stehlen, Icel. stela, SW. stj[ a]la, Dan. sti[ae]le, Goth. stilan.] 1.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • steal — steal, *pilfer, filch, purloin, lift, pinch, snitch, swipe, cop are comparable when they mean to take another s possession without right and without his knowledge or permission. Steal, the commonest and most general of the group, can refer to any …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • steal — ► VERB (past stole; past part. stolen) 1) take (something) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it. 2) give or take surreptitiously or without permission: I stole a look at my watch. 3) move somewhere quietly or… …   English terms dictionary

  • steal — [stēl] vt. stole, stolen, stealing [ME stelen < OE stælan, akin to Ger stehlen, prob. altered < IE base * ster , to rob > Gr sterein, to rob] 1. to take or appropriate (another s property, ideas, etc.) without permission, dishonestly, or …   English World dictionary

  • steal — vt stole, sto·len, steal·ing [Old English stelan]: to take or appropriate without right or consent and with intent to keep or make use of see also robbery, theft Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • steal — steal; steal·able; steal·age; steal·er; steal·ing·ly; …   English syllables

  • Steal — (st[=e]l), v. i. 1. To practice, or be guilty of, theft; to commit larceny or theft. [1913 Webster] Thou shalt not steal. Ex. xx. 15. [1913 Webster] 2. To withdraw, or pass privily; to slip in, along, or away, unperceived; to go or come furtively …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Steal — may refer to: * Theft * The gaining of a stolen base in baseball * Steal (basketball), a situation when the defensive player actively takes possession of the ball from the opponent s team * In professional sports, a steal is a draft pick who… …   Wikipedia

  • steal — O.E. stelan to commit a theft (class IV strong verb; past tense stæl, pp. stolen), from P.Gmc. *stelanan (Cf. O.S. stelan, O.N., O.Fris. stela, Du. stelen, O.H.G. stelan, Ger. stehlen, Goth. stilan), of unknown origin. Most IE words for steal… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Steal — (st[=e]l), n. [See {Stale} a handle.] A handle; a stale, or stele. [Archaic or Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster] And in his hand a huge poleax did bear. Whose steale was iron studded but not long. Spenser. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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