steal English · revision 5371

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=a. 800|origins=gem-pro *stelaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /stiːl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|stelen]], [[inh|ang|stelan|t=to commit theft]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*stelaną|alt=*stelanan]], the source also of Dutch stelen, German stehlen and Gothic stilan,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) of unknown origin.^(Hoad 1986) It is perhaps from a variant of [[ine-pro|*ster-|t=to rob, steal]], but Boutkan finds no good Indo-European etymology for it.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[stealth]] and [[stalk]] “walk stealthily”.^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To take dishonestly: before 800 in Old English, and about 1150 in Middle English.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The OED notes that secrecy seems part of the verb's original meaning.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To go secretly is from before 1160 in Barnhart, about 1300 in Etymonline, probably after Old Norse stelask,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and ''steal away'' from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) Of kisses it is from the late 14th century, of time from the 1520s, and of glances from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) Plagiarism is by the 1540s.^(Etymonline) Sports senses begin in cricket in 1836.^(Etymonline) ''Steal the show'' is by 1916,^(Etymonline) and ''steal someone's thunder'' is said to come from the playwright John Dennis, whose stage thunder effect was used in a production of Macbeth.^(Cresswell 2021) The noun, a theft, is from 1825,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and a bargain from 1942, in American English.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 800 – to take dishonestly.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a. 1160 – to go secretly.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1540s – to plagiarize.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1825 – noun, a theft.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1836 – in cricket.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1942 – a bargain.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To take something that belongs to someone else without permission.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To use someone's ideas or words as one's own; to [[plagiarize]].^(Collins 2023)

+ # To move quietly and secretly.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To get something by surprise or cleverness: ''steal a kiss''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(baseball)'' To reach the next base by running while the pitcher throws.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(informal)'' A [[bargain]].^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(informal)'' A theft.^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stealer]]

+ * [[stealable]]

+ * [[outsteal]]

+ * [[stealage]]

+ * [[stealth]]

+ * [[double steal]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stealthy]]

+ * [[stolen]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different noun steal, the stalk of a plant or the handle of a tool, from Old English stela, is from about 700 and is now dialectal.^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}