rob English · revision 5809

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=fro rober}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /rɒb/, US /rɑːb/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English robben, [[bor|fro|rober|t=to rob, steal, pillage]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from a Germanic source,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) West Germanic *rauba “booty”,^(Etymonline) from [[gem-pro|*raubōną|t=to rob]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which also gave German rauben and Old English rēafian, the source of [[reave]] and [[bereave]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) Word Origins notes that [[robe]] comes from the same Germanic root meaning “booty”, clothing being the kind of property taken in a raid.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To steal from, plunder or pillage: probably before 1200 in Barnhart, in the ''Ancrene Riwle''; the late 12th century in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To plunder a place is from about 1230,^(OED 1989) and to commit robbery in general from 1297.^(OED 1989) ''To rob Peter to pay Paul'' is from about 1380, in Wycliffe.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In football, to take the ball from an opponent is from 1882.^(OED 1989) ''Rob the cradle'' is attested from 1864, of drafting young men in the American Civil War, and by 1949 of romances with younger people.^(Etymonline) ''Robber'' and ''robbery'' are from before 1200.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – to steal from.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1230 – to plunder a place.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1380 – ''rob Peter to pay Paul''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1864 – ''rob the cradle''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1882 – in football.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To take [[property]] from a person or place illegally, by force or threat.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To [[deprive]] someone unfairly of something: ''robbed of victory''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[robber]]

+ * [[unrobbed]]

+ * [[robbery]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[reave]]

+ * [[bereave]]

+ * [[robe]]

+ * [[rover]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Rob, a syrup of fruit juice boiled down, is a different word (1578), through Medieval Latin from Arabic rubb.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}