# thief
## English
### Alternative forms

* theef

### Etymology

From Middle English thef, theef, þef, from Old English þēof, from Proto-West Germanic *þeub, from Proto-Germanic *þeubaz. Spelling from Northern England, where /eːo/ became [iə] rather than [eː]. (Compare the spelling of deep from Old English deop.)

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) enPR: thēf, IPA: /θiːf/
* (General American) IPA: /θif/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -iːf

### Noun

thief (plural thieves)
* One who carries out a theft.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:thief
** c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:water-thieves and land-thieves
* One who steals another person's property, especially by stealth and without using force or violence.
** 1878, Thomas Tusser, “74. A Digression.”, in Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie. […], London: Published for the English Dialect Society by Trübner & Co., […], →OCLC; republished as W[illiam] Payne, Sidney J[ohn Hervon] Herrtage, editors, Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie. […], London: Published for the English Dialect Society by Trübner & Co., […], 1878, →OCLC, stanza 4, page 166:Take heed to false harlots, and more, ye wot what. / If noise ye heare, / Looke all be cleare: / Least drabs doe noie thee, / And theeues destroie thee.
* (obsolete) A waster in the snuff of a candle.
** 1640, Joseph Hall, Divine Light:But hear you, my Worthy Brethren: do not you, where you see a thief in the candle, call presently for an extinguisher […]

#### Hypernyms

* (one who carries out a theft): See Thesaurus:criminal

#### Hyponyms

* burglar
* cat burglar
* mugger
* pickpocket
* robber

#### Derived terms

* a fair booty makes many a thief
* comparison is the thief of joy
* horse thief
* joke thief
* joule thief
* liquor thief
* opportunity makes a thief
* opportunity makes the thief
* oxygen thief
* palm thief
* panel thief
* police and thief
* procrastination is the thief of time
* sampling thief
* set a thief to catch a thief
* sneak thief
* stop thief
* thick as thieves
* thief ant
* thiefdom
* thief in law
* thief in the night
* thief knot
* thieflike
* thiefly
* thief palm
* thief-taker
* thief tube
* thievish
* time thief
* wage thief
* water-thief
* wheat thief
* wine thief

#### Related terms

* thieve

#### Translations

Abkhaz: аӷьычҩы (ağʲəčjʷə)
Afrikaans: dief (af)
Albanian: vjedhës (sq) m, vjedhëse (sq) f
Amharic: ሌባ (am) (leba)
Arabic: لِصّ m (liṣṣ), لِصَّة f (liṣṣa), سَارِق (ar) m (sāriq), سَارِقَة f (sāriqa), حَرَامِيّ m (ḥarāmiyy), حَرَامِيَّة f (ḥarāmiyya)
Egyptian Arabic: حرامى m (ḥarāmi)
Gulf Arabic: بايك m (bāyeg)
Hijazi Arabic: حرامي m (ḥarāmi), سَرَّاق m (sarrāg)
Moroccan Arabic: سراق m (sarrāq), شفار f (šaffār)
Aragonese: furtaire m
Archi: цӏогьор (cʼohor)
Armenian: գող (hy) (goġ)
Aromanian: fur m, furcudar, haramiu, chisãgi, caceac
Assamese: চোৰ (sür)
Asturian: lladrón m
Avar: цӏогьор (cʼohor)
Azerbaijani: oğru (az)
Baluchi: دز
Bashkir: бур (bur), уғры (uğrı), ҡараҡ (qaraq)
Basque: lapur, ebasle
Belarusian: зло́дзей m (zlódzjej), зладзе́йка f (zladzjéjka)
Bengali: চোর (bn) (cōr)
Bikol Central: paraikit
Breton: laer (br) m
Bulgarian: краде́ц (bg) m (kradéc), арами́я m (aramíja) (dated), арами́йка f (aramíjka)
Burmese: သူခိုး (my) (suhkui:)
Catalan: lladre (ca) m
Cebuano: kawatan
Chakma: 𑄌𑄪𑄢𑄴 (cur)
Chamicuro: ma'koleti
Chechen: къу (qʼu)
Cherokee: ᎦᏃᏍᎩᏍᎩ (ganosgisgi)
Chichewa: wakuba
Chinese:
Cantonese: 賊 / 贼 (caak$^{6-2}$)
Dungan: зый (zɨy), вэзый (vezɨy)
Gan: 賊 / 贼 (cet$^7$)
Hakka: 賊仔 / 贼仔 (chhe̍t-é)
Hokkien: 賊仔 / 贼仔 (zh-min-nan) (chha̍t-á), 勍仔 (zh-min-nan) (khiang-á)
Mandarin: 賊 / 贼 (zh) (zéi), 盜賊 / 盗贼 (zh) (dàozéi), 小偷 (zh) (xiǎotōu), 宵小 (zh) (xiāoxiǎo), 竊賊 / 窃贼 (zh) (qièzéi)
Northern Min: 賊 / 贼 (chā̤)
Wu: 賊骨頭 / 贼骨头, 賊 / 贼 ($^8$zeq)
Chuvash: вӑрӑ (vără)
Cimbrian: diip m
Corsican: latru (co) m
Czech: zloděj (cs) m, zlodějka (cs) f
Danish: tyv (da) c, tyveknægt c (male)
Dutch: dief (nl) m, dievegge (nl) f, gannef (nl) m
Egyptian: (ꜥwꜣy), (jṯꜣ)
Emilian: please add this translation if you can
Esperanto: ŝtelisto (eo)
Estonian: varas (et)
Ewe: fiafi n, fiafitɔ n
Extremaduran: please add this translation if you can
Faroese: tjóvur m
Finnish: varas (fi), voro (fi), ryöväri (fi), rosvo (fi)
Franco-Provençal: lârro m
French: voleur (fr) m, voleuse (fr) f
Frisian:
North Frisian: tiif m (Föhr-Amrum)
Friulian: lari m
Galician: ladrón m, lespio m, galafate m, ladroeiro m, gallofo m, regatiñeiro m, surpón m
Gallo: please add this translation if you can
Georgian: ქურდი (kurdi)
German: Dieb (de) m, Diebin (de) f
Gothic: 𐌷𐌻𐌹𐍆𐍄𐌿𐍃 m (hliftus), 𐌸𐌹𐌿𐍆𐍃 m (þiufs)
Greek: κλέφτης (el) m (kléftis)
Ancient: κλέπτης m (kléptēs), κλώψ m (klṓps), φώρ m (phṓr)
Gujarati: દસ્યુ m (dasyu)
Hebrew: גַּנָּב (he) m (ganáv)
Hiligaynon: kawatan
Hindi: चोर (hi) m (cor)
Hungarian: tolvaj (hu)
Icelandic: þjófur (is)
Ido: furtanto (io)
Ilocano: mannanakaw
Indonesian: pencuri (id)
Ingrian: varas
Ingush: къу (qʼu)
Irish: gadaí (ga) m
Isoko: oji
Istriot: laro m
Italian: ladro (it) m, ladra (it) f, ladruncolo m, borsaiolo (it) m, scippatore (it) m, mariolo (it) m, taccheggiatore (it), malandrino (it) m, borseggiatore (it)
Japanese: 泥棒 (ja) (どろぼう, dorobō), 盗賊 (ja) (とうぞく, tōzoku), 窃盗者 (せっとうしゃ, settō-sha)
Javanese: maling (jv), bajingan (jv) (pejorative)
Kalmyk: хулхач (xulxaç)
Kannada: ಕಳ್ಳ (kn) (kaḷḷa)
Kazakh: ұры (ūry)
Khmer: ចោរ (km) (cao)
Kikuyu: mũici class 1
Kituba: muyibi
Komi-Permyak: гусь (guś)
Kongo: mwivi
Korean: 도둑 (ko) (doduk), 도적(盜賊) (ko) (dojeok)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: دز (ckb) (diz)
Northern Kurdish: diz (ku), dizîker (ku) m or f
Kyrgyz: ууру (ky) (uuru)
Ladin: lère m
Ladino:
Hebrew: לאד׳רון m
Roman: ladrón m, ladhron m
Lao: ກະໂມຽ (ka mōi), ຂະໂມຍ (lo) (kha mōi), ໂຈນ (chōn)
Latin: fūr (la) m or f, latro (la) m
Latvian: zaglis m, zagle f
Laz: mamxire
Leonese: please add this translation if you can
Lezgi: угъри (uġri)
Ligurian: laddro m
Lingala: moyibi
Lithuanian: vagis m, vagė f
Livonian: salāj
Lombard: lader (lmo) m
Low German: Deef m
Luxembourgish: Déif (lb) m
Macedonian: крадец (mk) m (kradec), крадачка f (kradačka), (poetic) арамија m (aramija), арамијка f (aramijka)
Malagasy: kary (mg), fangalarina (mg)
Malay: pencuri (ms)
Malayalam: കള്ളൻ (ml) (kaḷḷaṉ), മോഷ്ടാവ് (ml) (mōṣṭāvŭ)
Maltese: ħalliel m
Maori: kaiā, tāhae, whānako
Mapudungun: weñefe
Marathi: चोर m or f (cor)
Middle English: thef
Mirandese: lhadron m
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: хулгайч (mn) (xulgajč), хулгай (mn) (xulgaj)
Mongolian: ᠬᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠢᠢᠴᠢ (qulaɣaiiči), ᠬᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠢ (qulaɣai)
Mwani: mwivi
Nanai: чово (čowo)
Navajo: aniʼįįhii
Neapolitan: latro m, mariuólo m, mariunciéllo m, ferraiuólo m, màneco 'ancino m
Nepali: चोर (ne) (cor)
Ngazidja Comorian: mwidzi class 1/2
Nigerian Pidgin: tiff
Norman: voleux m
Norwegian:
Bokmål: tyv (no) m, tjuv (no) m
Nynorsk: tjuv m
Occitan: raubaire (oc) m, raubaira (oc) f, laire (oc) m, laira (oc) f
Odia: ଚୋର (or) (cora)
Ojibwe: gimoodishk
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: татъ m (tatŭ), зълодѣи m (zŭloděi)
Old English: þēof m
Old Norse: þjófr m
Oromo: hattuu
Ottoman Turkish: اوغری, حرامی (harami), خرسز (hırsız)
Pannonian Rusyn: крадош m (kradoš), крадошка f (kradoška)
Pashto: غل (ps) m (ǧal)
Persian:
Dari: دُزْد (duzd)
Iranian Persian: دُزْد (dozd), حَرامی (harâmi) (dated)
Phoenician: 𐤀𐤂𐤓𐤃 pl (ʾgrd)
Piedmontese: làder m
Polish: złodziej (pl) m, złodziejka (pl) f
Portuguese: ladrão (pt) m, ladra (pt) f
Punjabi: ਚੋਰ m (cor)
Quechua: suwa
Rohingya: sur
Romagnol: lêdar m
Romani: ćor m
Romanian: hoț (ro) m, hoață (ro) f
Romansch: lader m, leder m
Russian: вор (ru) m (vor), воро́вка (ru) f (voróvka), ворю́га (ru) m or f (vorjúga) (disparaging), вори́шка (ru) m or f (voríška) (petty thief, colloquial)
Sanskrit: चोर (sa) m (cora), चोरी (sa) f (corī)
Scottish Gaelic: mèirleach m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ло́пов m, та̏т m, кра̀дљивац m, хара̀мија m
Roman: lópov (sh) m, tȁt (sh) m, kràdljivac (sh) m, haràmija (sh) m
Sicilian: latru (scn) m, latruni (scn) m, larruni (scn) m
Sidamo: mooraancho
Sinhalese: හොරා (horā)
Slovak: zlodej (sk) m, zlodejka f
Slovene: tat (sl) m, tatica f
Somali: tuug (so)
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: złoźej m
Upper Sorbian: paduch m
Southern Altai: уур (uur)
Spanish: ladrón (es) m, caco (es) m (colloquial), chorizo (es) m (colloquial), mangante (es) m (colloquial), amigo de lo ajeno (es) (colloquial), chori (es) m or f, shacador m (Argentina)
Sundanese: maling
Svan: ქუ̂ით (kûit)
Swahili: mwizi (sw), mnyang'anyi (sw) class 1/2
Swedish: tjuv (sv) c
Tabasaran: угъри (uġri)
Tagalog: magnanakaw
Tajik: дузд (tg) (duzd)
Talysh: دزد (dəzd)
Tamil: திருடன் (ta) (tiruṭaṉ)
Taos: tràmpiʼína
Tarantino: please add this translation if you can
Tatar: карак (tt) (qaraq)
Telugu: దొంగ (te) (doṅga)
Thai: ขโมย (th) (kà-mooi), โจร (th) (joon)
Tibetan: རྐུ་མ (rku ma)
Tocharian B: lyak m
Tok Pisin: raskol
Turkish: hırsız (tr), uğru (tr); kuldur (tr) (regional), karak (tr) (regional)
Turkmen: ogry
Tuvan: оор (oor)
Ukrainian: зло́дій m (zlódij), зло́дійка f (zlódijka), краді́й (uk) m (kradíj), краді́йка (uk) f (kradíjka)
Urdu: چور m (cor), دُزْد m (duzd)
Uyghur: ئوغرى (oghri)
Uzbek: oʻgʻri (uz)
Venetan: laro m, ladro m, ladron m
Vietnamese: kẻ trộm, kẻ cắp, kẻ ăn trộm
Vilamovian: dīb
Volapük: (♂♀) tifan (vo), (♂) hitifan, (♀) jitifan (vo)
Walloon: voleu (wa) m, voleuse (wa) f, volresse (wa) f
Waray-Waray: buyon
Welsh: lleidr (cy) m, lladron (cy) m pl
Yiddish: גנבֿ m (ganev), גנבֿטע f (ganevte)
Yucatec Maya: ookol
Zazaki: tırıter c, xırxız c :

### Anagrams

* feith, theif

## Middle English
### Noun

thief
* (Gower) Alternative form of thef