purloin means to take the property of another, often in breach of trust; to appropriate wrongfully; to steal. It carries an Arena rating of 1722, earned across 7 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, purloin ranks #977 of 17,113 for Most Elegant Words, #3,111 of 17,122 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,390 of 17,150 for Funniest Words, #3,431 of 17,118 for Most Ponderous Words.
purloin is pronounced /pɜːˈlɔɪn/.
Why “purloin” is a great word
To take the property of another, often in a stealthy manner or in breach of trust. From Middle English purloynen ('to remove'), borrowed from Anglo-Norman purloigner ('to put far away'), from Old French porloignier ('to put far away, remove'), from por- (forth) + loignier (to place at a distance), from Latin longē (far). Doublet of prolong. The sense 'to steal' developed in English by the 1540s. Unlike 'pilfer,' which suggests petty, furtive theft of trifles, or 'embezzle,' which is a specific fraud upon entrusted funds, 'purloin' carries a particular atmosphere of calculated removal—something taken not in hot haste but with cold deliberation. It is the chambermaid slipping a silver locket into her apron, the archivist sliding a rare letter into his coat lining, the trusted friend pocketing your mother's ring while you pour the tea: each act made worse by the intimacy that preceded it, the quiet certainty that what was near has been made, by design, irretrievably far.
Etymology
From Middle English purloynen (“to remove”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman purloigner (“to put far away”), one of the variants of Old French porloignier. Doublet of prolong.
verb
- To take the property of another, often in breach of trust; to appropriate wrongfully; to steal.e.g.“Had from his wakeful custody purloined / The guarded gold.”
- To commit theft; to thieve.e.g.“The Apostle expressly forbiddeth servants to purloin (Titus 2:10).”
Words closest in meaning
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