larceny
pronunciation
How to pronounce larceny in British English:
UK [ˈlɑ:səni]
How to pronounce larceny in American English:
US [ˈlɑrsəni]
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- Noun:
- the act of taking something from someone unlawfully
Word Origin
- larceny
- larceny: [15] The Latin word for ‘robber’ was latrō. Its original meaning was ‘mercenary soldier’, and it came from Greek látron ‘pay’ (a relative of latreíā ‘service, worship’, which provided the suffix in such English words as idolatry and bardolatry). From latrō was derived latrōcinium ‘robbery’, which passed into English via Old French larcin and its Anglo- Norman derivative *larcenie.=> idolatry
- larceny (n.)
- late 15c., with -y (3) + Anglo-French larcin (late 13c.), from Old French larrecin, larcin "theft, robbery" (11c.), from Latin latrocinium "robbery, freebooting, highway-robbery, piracy," from latro "robber, bandit," also "hireling, mercenary," ultimately from a Greek source akin to latron "pay, hire, wages," from a suffixed form of PIE root *le- (1) "to get."
Example
- 1. So they slapped me with grand larceny .
- 2. Those who excavate sites of ancient culture or ancient tombs without permission are punishable for larceny .
- 3. Fate didn 't treat the man well , without any skills , zhang 's life maintained a downward spiral and he was even arrested twice for larceny in 2007 .
- 4. Alex salmond , scotland 's first minister and snp leader , calls it " larceny " that revenues from oil and gas production , most of which comes from scottish waters , have stuffed london 's coffers for the past 40 years .
- 5. This story of petty larceny is of keen interest to about a dozen people . To the businessman - who doubtless gave the boy a rocket - to the boy , his mother , his headteacher , his victim and the classmates who will have enjoyed the shiver of excitement that comes when someone else gets into trouble .