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Glite Dictionary
larcenist

larcenist

1 9.2
A person who steals things
  • noun
  • /ˈlɑːrsənɪst/
  • Archaic
translation icon : ladrón
  • The police are looking for a notorious larcenist who has been targeting local businesses.

Examples

  • You've been doing this larcenist dance now for more than eight years.

    Saw X (2023)

  • Our light-fingered larcenist.

    The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

  • The detective apprehended the larcenist just as he was attempting to steal a car.

  • Last night, a skilled larcenist was caught stealing expensive jewelry from the store.

Synonyms

thief
vslarcenist
754 1.0

A person who takes someone else's things without permission

is the legal label for that same kind of offender
stealer
vslarcenist
4 4.6

A person who takes things that belong to others without permission

refers to the offender regardless of any intention to sell
sneak thief
vslarcenist
2 7.6

A person who secretly steals things without using force

is the neutral legal term not focused on furtive method
pilferer
vslarcenist
1 7.3

A person who steals small things without using force

covers any size of unlawful taking, not only small thefts
reiver
vslarcenist
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A person who raids and steals from farms and homes in old times

means ordinary property theft rather than large-scale raiding
larcener
vslarcenist
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who illegally takes other people's things

is identical in meaning but is a different form of the word
purloiner
vslarcenist
9.6

A person who steals things secretly

is the broad legal term that does not stress sneakiness

Surface Forms

larcenist singular
larcenists plural

Morphology

larcenist = larceny (transparent) = larceny + ist

Formed by the noun 'larceny' + the productive agentive suffix '-ist', yielding 'person who commits larceny'; meaning is predictable from the base and suffix.

Etymology

Larcenist comes from the word larceny, which means 'theft', and that goes back to the Latin root latro, meaning 'bandit'. The ending -ist means 'a person who does something', so a larcenist is simply someone who steals.