steal
[ steel ]
/ stil /
verb (used with object), stole, sto·len, steal·ing.
verb (used without object), stole, sto·len, steal·ing.
noun
Idioms for steal
steal someone's thunder,
to appropriate or use another's idea, plan, words, etc.
Origin of steal
before 900; 1860–65
for def 5; Middle English
stelen, Old English
stelan; cognate with German
stehlen, Old Norse
stela, Gothic
stilan
historical usage of steal
Steal and its kindred words come from the Germanic root
stel- “to rob, steal” (as in Gothic
stilan, Old English, Old Frisian, Old High German
stelan, German
stehlen ); the root has no certain relatives outside Germanic.
The idea of secrecy and concealment is a natural association, as in the words derivative of stel-, such as the noun stealth (Middle English stelthe, stelth, from Germanic stēlithō ), and the verb stalk “to follow or observe secretly or cautiously.” One of the current senses of stalk “to follow or harass someone obsessively over a period of time” dates from the early 1980s.
The idea of secrecy and concealment is a natural association, as in the words derivative of stel-, such as the noun stealth (Middle English stelthe, stelth, from Germanic stēlithō ), and the verb stalk “to follow or observe secretly or cautiously.” One of the current senses of stalk “to follow or harass someone obsessively over a period of time” dates from the early 1980s.
OTHER WORDS FROM steal
steal·a·ble, adjective steal·er, noun non·steal·a·ble, adjective out·steal, verb (used with object), out·stole, out·sto·len, out·steal·ing.Words nearby steal
Example sentences from the Web for steal
British Dictionary definitions for steal
steal
/ (stiːl) /
verb steals, stealing, stole or stolen
noun informal
the act of stealing
something stolen or acquired easily or at little cost
Word Origin for steal
Old English
stelan; related to Old Frisian, Old Norse
stela Gothic
stilan, German
stehlen
Medical definitions for steal
steal
[ stēl ]
n.
The diversion of blood flow from its normal course.