purloin Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb make off with belongings of others
    pilfer; filch; pinch; abstract; swipe; sneak; hook; lift; snarf; cabbage; nobble.

WordNet

Pur*loin" transitive verb
Etymology
OF. purloignier, porloignier, to retard, delay; pur, por, pour, for (L. pro) + loin far, far off (L. longe). See Prolong, and cf. Eloign.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Purloined ; present participle & verbal noun Purloining
Definitions
  1. 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" intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To practice theft; to steal. Titus ii. 10.

Webster 1913