English
kleft
Kleft comes from Greek κλέφτης ‘thief’, and goes back to Ancient Greek κλέπτης.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλέπτης‘thief’
- Byzantine Greekc. 600–1453κλέφτης
- Greek1453–presentsame formkléftis‘thief’
- Englishearliest quotation 1972kleft
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκλέπτης‘thief’
- Byzantine Greekc. 600–1453κλέφτης
- Greek1453–presentsame formkléftis‘thief’
- Englishearliest quotation 1972kleft
Earliest quotation: 1972, Douglas Dakin, The Unification of Greece: “True, the klefts often mulcted the villages, but at…”
Every English word from Ancient Greek κλέπτης
Today it means
noun A type of brigand operating in the mountains of pre-Revolutionary Greece.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek κλέπτης / kleft