purloin
verb
Did you know?
Picture a pie cooling on a windowsill. Peach, possibly, or perhaps plum—with perfect perfumed plumes puffing out from the holes poked in its crust. And then, suddenly, the pie is gone (as is our alliteration, at least for now). Those familiar with the classic pie-windowsill thievery of cartoons and comics know that the dessert has not been merely stolen, or even swiped, but purloined! Purloin comes from the Anglo-French verb purluigner, meaning “to prolong, postpone, or set aside.” English speakers of the 15th century borrowed purloin to use it in much the same way, applying it when someone sets something aside, concealing it so that it cannot be used by someone else. The sense meaning “to steal” developed not long after in the same century. The whiff of unseriousness often carried by purloin is not a constant; even today, it is common to read reports of people purloining large sums of money, not just delicious plum pies. But purloin does tend to carry the same particular piquancy as pinch and pilfer.
Examples of purloin in a Sentence
Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 June 2025
For years, Huawei had been building up its research capacity, trying to shed its reputation as a low-cost provider whose tech came from purloining the discoveries of others.
—Steven Levy, WIRED, 16 Nov. 2020
And when purloined Democratic National Committee emails were leaked just ahead of the Democratic National Convention, Putin did not hide his glee.
—Nathan Hodge, CNN, 5 Sep. 2024
In 2022-23, before its richest teams were purloined by other power conferences, the average public Pac-12 athletic department spent $130.8 million and earned $121.5 million in revenue.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for purloin
Cite this Entry
“Purloin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purloin. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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purloin
transitive verb
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