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Webster 1913 Edition


Purloin

Pur-loin′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Purloined
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Purloining
.]
[OF.
purloignier
,
porloignier
, to retard, delay;
pur
,
por
,
pour
, for (L.
pro
) +
loin
far, far off (L.
longe
). See
Prolong
, and cf.
Eloign
.]
To take or carry away for one’s self; hence, to steal; to take by theft; to filch.
Had from his wakeful custody
purloined

The guarded gold.
Milton.
when did the muse from Fletcher scenes
purloin
?
Dryden.

Pur-loin′

,
Verb.
I.
To practice theft; to steal.
Titus ii. 10.

Webster 1828 Edition


Purloin

PURLOIN'

, v.t.
1.
Literally, to take or carry away for one's self; hence, to steal; to take by theft.
Your butler purloins your liquor.
2.
To take by plagiarism; to steal from books or manuscripts.

Definition 2024


purloin

purloin

English

Verb

purloin (third-person singular simple present purloins, present participle purloining, simple past and past participle purloined)

  1. (transitive) To take the property of another, often in breach of trust; to appropriate wrongfully; to steal.
    • Milton
      Had from his wakeful custody purloined / The guarded gold.
    • 1900, One Who Was in It, chapter 8, in Kruger's Secret Service, pages 168-169:
      Probably my acquaintance, Mr Blank, therefore, would have been able, if he had so wished to do, to purloin the papers which he mentioned.
  2. (intransitive) To commit theft; to thieve.
    • 2006 [1622], William Gouge, Of Domestical Duties, ISBN 1430309598, page 454:
      The Apostle expressly forbiddeth servants to purloin (Titus 2:10).

Translations