A person who steals or drives away cattle and other livestock; a cattle rustler or thief.
From Latin 'abactor,' derived from 'abactus' (driven away) and the agent suffix '-or' (one who does). The word appears in medieval English legal documents borrowed directly from Latin legal terminology describing this specific crime.
An abactor wasn't just someone who stole one cow—this was a criminal specialized in driving off entire herds, and medieval sheriffs and nobles had to actively hunt them down because losing herds could bankrupt farmers and destabilize entire regions.
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