English
thief
Thief comes from Middle English thef ‘a fraudster or con artist’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *þeubaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þeubazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þeubreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þēof
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thef‘a fraudster or con artist’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598thief
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þeubazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þeubreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þēof
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thef‘a fraudster or con artist’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598thief
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “water-thieves and land-thieves”.
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *þeubaz
Today it means
noun One who carries out a theft.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *þeubaz / thief