thievery
(ˈθiːvərɪ)
[f. thief, thiev- (see note in etym. s.v.), or thieve v. + -ery.]
1. The committing or practice of theft; stealing. With a and pl., An act of thieving.
| 1568 U. Fulwell Like Will to Like E j b, Yet better it is to beg moste shamefully, Then to be hanged and to theeuery our selues frame. 1580 Apol. Pr. Orange in Poœnix (1721) I. 479 Their Thieveries and Sackings. 1623 T. Scot Highw. God 21 But the Theefe proceedes in his theeuery till he brings himselfe to the gallowes. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack vii, They were whipped so for picking pockets, and other petty thieveries. 1840 Carlyle Heroes iv. (1872) 138 We do not ‘tolerate’ Falsehoods, Thieveries, Iniquities. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus xlvii. 2 The greedy Piso's Tools of thievery, rogues to famish ages. |
2. The result or produce of thieving; stolen property. Cf. pilfery 3.
| 1583 T. Stocker Civ. Warres Lowe C. iv. 23 b, The Spaniardes departed Mastright, with their butin and theeuerie. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iv. iv. 45 Now with a robbers haste Crams his rich theeuerie vp, he knowes not how. 1873 Browning Red Cotton Night-Cap Country ii. 720 A veriest trap of twigs On tree⁓top, every straw a thievery. |