English
robbery
Robbery comes from Old French rober ‘to steal’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp- ‘to break, tear (up)’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrewp-‘to break, tear (up)’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*raubōną‘to rob, steal, plunder’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*raubōnreconstructed
- Late Latinmodernraubāre
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400rober‘to steal’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400roberie
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500robberie
- Englishtodayrobbery
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hrewp-‘to break, tear (up)’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*raubōną‘to rob, steal, plunder’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*raubōnreconstructed
- Late Latinmodernraubāre
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400rober‘to steal’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400roberie
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500robberie
- Englishtodayrobbery
Equivalent to rob + -ery
Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp- ‘to snatch’
…
Frankish *raubōn
Late Latin raubō
Anglo-Norman rober
Middle English robben ‘to steal, rob’
English rob
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp- ‘to break, tear (up)’
route, corruption, corrupt, disrupt, eruption, rupture, rout, erupt, robe, reaver, 22 more
through Proto-Germanic *raubōną ‘to rob, steal, plunder’
through Frankish *raubōn
Today it means
noun The act or practice of robbing.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *Hrewp- / robbery