purloin

/(ˌ)pər-ˈlȯin/

Middle English, to put away, misappropriate, from Anglo-French purluigner to prolong, postpone, set aside, from pur- forward + luin, loing at a distance, from Latin longe, from longus long

verb

  1. to appropriate wrongfully and often by a breach of trust

steal pilfer filch purloin mean to take from another without right or without detection. steal may apply to any surreptitious taking of something and differs from the other terms by commonly applying to intangibles as well as material things. pilfer implies stealing repeatedly in small amounts.