Where does “thieves” come from?
Thieves comes from Middle English thef, Old English þēof, Proto-Germanic þeubaz, and Proto-Indo-European tewpó-.
thieves (English): plural of thief; Third-person singular simple...
Definitions
- plural of thief; Third-person singular simple...
Ancestry of “thieves”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | thief | One who carries out a theft; One who steals... |
| 2 | Middle Scots | theif | — |
| 3 | Middle English | þef | Alternative form of thef |
| 4 | Old English | þēof | thief |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | þeub | thief |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | þeubaz | thief |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | tewpó- | — |