Etymograph

English

theft

Theft comes from Middle English theft, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *þiubīþō.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þiubīþōreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þiubīþureconstructed
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500theft
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2007same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þiubīþōreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þiubīþureconstructed
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500theft
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2007same form

Earliest quotation: 2007, Charles Hugh Smith, When Lies Become Normal: “If you steal a candy bar, you are guilty…”

Formed from thieve + -t

Middle English *theven

English thieve

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *þiubīþō

Today it means

noun The act of stealing property.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *þiubīþō / theft

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