/θiːf/, /θif/
OriginFrom Middle English thef, theef, þef, from Old English þēof, from Proto-West Germanic *þeub, from Proto-Germanic *þeubaz.
- One who carries out a theft.
“water-thieves and land-thieves”
- One who steals another person's property, especially by stealth and without using force or violence.
“Take heed to false harlots, and more, ye wot what. / If noise ye heare, / Looke all be cleare: / Least drabs doe noie thee, / And theeues destroie thee.”
- obsoleteA waster in the snuff of a candle.
“But hear you, my Worthy Brethren: do not you, where you see a thief in the candle, call presently for an extinguisher[…]”
Formsthieves(plural) · theef(alternative)
Source: Wiktionary