stealing
/ˈstiːlɪŋ/
verb (present participle)
Origin
Old English
stelan — to take, to steal
Overview
Meaning Now
- The act of taking another's property without permission and with intent to deprive them of it.
- The crime of larceny.
- Informal: The act of betraying or deceiving someone.
Literal older meaning
to take secretly
Language path
Old English → Middle English → Modern English
Earliest form
stelan
Earliest period
Old English (c. 1000 AD)
Journey
Stealing has been a criminal act throughout history, with laws against theft dating back to ancient codes like the Code of Hammurabi. In medieval England, theft was punished severely, and the word 'steal' has been part of the English language since its Germanic roots.
Evolution
- Old English (c. 1000)
stelan
“to take, to steal”
strong verb, class IV
- Middle English (c. 1200-1500)
stelen
“to steal”
vowel leveling
- Early Modern English (c. 1500-1700)
steal
“to steal”
Great Vowel Shift
- Modern English (c. 1700-present)
stealing
“present participle”
Connections
Word parts
steal
root
to take
-ing
suffix
forming present participle
Related across languages
German
stehlen
to steal
Dutch
stelen
to steal
Gothic
stihan
to steal
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Related to stealing
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.