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burglar

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from British Medieval Latin burglātor, from Old French burgeor (burglar), from Medieval Latin burgātor (burglar), from burgō (to commit burglary), from Late Latin burgus (fortified town), probably from Frankish *burg (fortress), from Proto-Germanic *burgz, *burgiją (borough, watch-tower). The -l- may have been inserted under influence from Latin latro (thief).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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burglar (plural burglars)

  1. A person who breaks in to premises with the intent of committing theft.
    The burglar made off with a large diamond from the museum.
    • 2010, Louis De Bernières, Notwithstanding, →ISBN, page 82:
      In the village itself his lionheartedness had been a legend ever since he had brained a burglar with a number seven iron, and the jury in Guildford had, despite the clear direction of the judge, resolutely declined to convict him for the use of unnecessary force.
    • 2017 June 23, Max Byrd, “A Trip to Southern Italy to Shed Light on a Family Scandal”, in The New York Times[1]:
      There’s good reason to worry. In an earlier memoir, “Five-Finger Discount,” Stapinski recreated the terrifying world of swindlers, embezzlers, burglars and mobster wannabes who made up her extended Jersey City family.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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burglar (third-person singular simple present burglars, present participle burglaring, simple past and past participle burglared)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) To commit burglary; to burgle.
    • 1901, Emma Orczy, The Robbery in Phillimore Terrace:
      The latter, with another constable, remained to watch the burglared premises both back and front, []

See also

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