thiefdom, thievedom
(ˈθiːfdəm, ˈθiːvdəm)
[f. thief + -dom.]
1. The practice of theft; thieving, robbery. rare.
| α 1548 Hooper Declar. Commandm. xi. 180 The grettist thyffdomme of all is Sacrilege, in robbing of the goodes appointid to an holye vse. |
| β 1562 T. Phaer æneid x. Dd iij, Who did their league by theuedom breke? 1887 P. M'Neill Blawearie 153 A' we made by our thievdom, was—I lost a tooth and had my dowg's tail destroyed. |
2. The realm or domain of thieves.
| α 1864 Sat. Rev. 27 Aug. 272/1 A narrative illustrative of London thiefdom. 1888 A. Wardrop Poems & Sk. 193 Literary thiefdom and Yankeedom are now synonymous. |
| β 1862 Cornh. Mag. Nov. 645 A fiddler to play at the thievedom carnivals. 1870 H. W. Holland in Gd. Words 1 June 391/2 In the interior of thievedom they have public-houses, beer-houses, shops, and lodging-houses, almost entirely to themselves. |