embezzle

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪmˈbɛz.əl/; /ɛmˈbɛz.əl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English embesilen,^[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Anglo-Norman enbesiler (“to steal, make disappear”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from en- and besiler,^[2][3][5] Old French besillier “to destroy, ravage, gouge”,^[2][3][4] which is of unknown origin.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make away with provisions or money; to carry off secretly what belongs to another (1397; about 1425 in Barnhart).^[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century the verb also meant to weaken or diminish something (1566),^[7] and to squander property through waste (1578).^[7] The modern sense, to divert money to one's own use in breach of trust or official duty, dates from about 1600^[7][4] and is the only one still current.^[7] Embezzlement is recorded from 1548.^[3]

Timeline

• 1397 – to make away with, carry off secretly.^[7]
• 1548 – embezzlement.^[3]
• 1566 – to weaken, impair (obsolete).^[7]
• 1578 – to squander.^[7]
• 1600 – to misappropriate entrusted money.^[7]
• 1667 – embezzler.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To take money or property entrusted to one's care for one's own use, in breach of trust.

Word family

• embezzlement
• embezzler

Related words

• peculate
• defalcate
• misappropriate

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press