thief

noun, plural thieves.

1. a person who steals, especially secretly or without open force; one guilty of theft or larceny.

noun plural thieves (θiːvz)

1. a person who steals something from another
2. criminal law a person who commits theft

n.Old English þeof, from Proto-Germanic *theubaz (cf. Old Frisian thiaf, Old Saxon thiof, Middle Dutch dief, Old High German diob, German dieb, Old Norse þiofr, Gothic þiufs), probably from PIE *teup- (cf. Lithuanian tupeti “to crouch down”).