grand larceny
8
7.9
- noun
- /ɡrænd ˈlɑːrsəni/
- Formal
:
gran robo
- In March, she pleaded guilty to grand larceny under a plea deal that involved returning the stolen goods.
Now you don't want to call a fucking grand larceny.
- Now you don't want to call a fucking grand larceny.
Examples
-
In 1907, he was apprehended in New York for grand larceny.
Academic text (1995) -
Looks like a case of grand larceny in the sheriff's office.
-
You are being held for trial for a charge of grand larceny.
-
There 's been a grand larceny committed on these premises!
-
Defendant is charged with attempted grand larceny.
-
She was also charged the following day with grand larceny in a Feb. 10 incident involving a stolen vehicle.
Blog text (5) -
In 1871, Tweed was indicted on charges of fraud and grand larceny.
Academic text (2002) -
Browne pleaded no contest to securities fraud and was indicted on grand larceny in Santa Clara County, California, on May 26, 1992.
Blog text (31) -
Enricht ended up convicted of grand larceny and spent seven years in jail, but that hasn't deterred the many water-powered car dreamers and schemers who followed him.
Blog text (16) -
Defendant is charged with grand larceny for stealing expensive jewelry from the store.
Synonyms
20
6.8
Taking valuable things without permission that are worth a lot of money
Antonyms
How Serious
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally transparent: 'larceny' means unlawful taking of property and 'grand' indicates a larger or more serious form, so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a theft of greater value or severity. Although the term is legal/register-specific, the modifier logic is regular and predictable across languages, making the meaning derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Grand larceny comes from the idea that grand means 'large or serious' and larceny means 'theft'. Courts used grand to mark thefts of valuable property as more serious than small thefts, so today grand larceny means stealing things worth a lot of money.