different between thieves vs theft

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: th?vz, IPA^(key): /?i?vz/

Noun

thieves

1. plural of thief

Verb

thieves

1. Third-person singular simple present indicative form of thieve

Usage notes

Usually deprecated in favour of steals

English

Etymology

From Middle English theft, thefte, þefte, þefþe, þiefþe, from Old English þ?efþu, from Proto-Germanic *þiubiþ?, from *þeubaz (“thief”), equivalent to thief +? -th or thieve +? -th. Cognate with Old Frisian thiuvethe, thiufthe (“theft”), Old Norse þýfð, þýft, and (obsolete) Dutch diefte.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /??ft/
• Rhymes: -?ft

Noun

theft (countable and uncountable, plural thefts)

1. The act of stealing property.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:theft

Derived terms

• petty theft

Related terms

• thief
• thieve

Translations

See also

• nick
• steal
• TWOC

Further reading

• theft on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Middle English

Alternative forms

• thefte, þyefþe, þiefþe, þifte, þeofþe, þeuft, þeefte, thifthe, theffte, þeft

Etymology

From Old English þ?efþu, from Proto-Germanic *þiubiþ?; equivalent to thef +? -th.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?e?ft/, /??ft/, /?e?f?/, /??f?/
• (mainly southern ME) IPA^(key): /?i?ft/, /?ift/

Noun

theft

1. Theft, stealing, robbery (in general or as an individual instance)
2. Financial fraud; the acquiring of financial goods maliciously.
3. Some act viewed negatively compared or equated to theft.
4. Stolen or illegally acquired goods or possessions.
5. (rare) An alleged instance of robbery.

Descendants

• English: theft
• Scots: thift, theft

References

• “th???ft(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-10-21.