klepto

1 of 2

noun

klep·​to ˈklep-(ˌ)tō 

plural kleptos

: kleptomaniac

klepto-

2 of 2

combining form

: stealing : theft

kleptomania

Examples of klepto in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Companies currying favor have been replaced with those reacting to a climate of fear—of punishing lawsuits, of punitive regulatory reactions—fear that democracy is being replaced by a kind of klepto-feudalism. — Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024

America doesn't need your klepto-crude. — Peter Weber, The Week, 9 Mar. 2022

What could be worse than the klepto-managers of Wall Street? — Scott Burns, Dallas News, 23 June 2020

The first trilogy borrowed greedily from Flash Gordon and Japanese samurai movies, and set a precedent for future klepto-cinema. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 20 Dec. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Combining form

borrowed from Late Greek, combining form from Greek kléptēs "thief," kléptein "to steal," from a base klep-, going back to an Indo-European verb *klep- "steal, conceal," whence also Gothic hlifan "to steal," Latin clepere, Tocharian B kälyp- "steal"

Note: If Tocharian B klep- "touch with the fingers, investigate," kälp- "get, obtain" pertain, the original meaning of the Indo-European etymon was broader.

First Known Use

Noun

1953, in the meaning defined above