Theft

Theft
Theft Theft, n. [OE. thefte, AS. [thorn]i['e]f[eth]e, [thorn][=y]f[eth]e, [thorn]e['o]f[eth]e. See {Thief}.] 1. (Law) The act of stealing; specifically, the felonious taking and removing of personal property, with an intent to deprive the rightful owner of the same; larceny. [1913 Webster]

Note: To constitute theft there must be a taking without the owner's consent, and it must be unlawful or felonious; every part of the property stolen must be removed, however slightly, from its former position; and it must be, at least momentarily, in the complete possession of the thief. See {Larceny}, and the Note under {Robbery}. [1913 Webster]

2. The thing stolen. [R.] [1913 Webster]

If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, . . . he shall restore double. --Ex. xxii. 4. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • theft — n [Old English thiefth]: larceny; broadly: a criminal taking of the property or services of another without consent ◇ Theft commonly encompasses by statute a variety of forms of stealing formerly treated as distinct crimes. grand theft: theft of… …   Law dictionary

  • theft — /theft/, n. 1. the act of stealing; the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another; larceny. 2. an instance of this. 3. Archaic. something stolen. [bef. 900; ME; OE thefth, theofth; see THIEF, TH1; c. ON thyfth …   Universalium

  • theft — [θeft] noun [countable, uncountable] the crime of stealing or an act of stealing something: • An employee was fired for theft. • Your property should be insured against theft. theft of • Thefts of property from cars rose 24%. iˈdentity ˌtheft… …   Financial and business terms

  • Theft — • The secret taking of another s property against the reasonable will of that other Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Theft     Theft      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • theft — theft, larceny, robbery, burglary mean the act or crime of stealing, though they have differences in legal application. The same differences in implications and applications are observable in the agent nouns thief, larcener or larcenist, robber,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • theft — [θeft] n [: Old English; Origin: thiefth] 1.) [U] the crime of stealing →↑thief, burglary ↑burglary, robbery ↑robbery ▪ Car theft is on the increase. ▪ an arrest for petty theft (=stealing small things) ▪ Three men were charged with attemp …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • theft — [theft] n. [ME thefte < OE thiefth: see THIEF & TH1] the act or an instance of stealing; larceny SYN. THEFT is the general term and LARCENY the legal term for the unlawful or felonious taking away of another s property without his or her… …   English World dictionary

  • theft — [ θeft ] noun count or uncount ** the crime of stealing. Someone who commits this crime is called a thief: There have been a lot of thefts recently. theft of: He was charged with the theft of club funds …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • theft — theft; theft·bote; …   English syllables

  • theft — (n.) O.E. þeofð (W.Saxon þiefð), from P.Gmc. *theubitho (Cf. O.Fris. thiufthe, O.N. þyfð), from *theubaz thief (see THIEF (Cf. thief)) + suffix itha (cognate with L. itatem) …   Etymology dictionary

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