In ancient Rome, a person who steals cattle or livestock, or the crime of cattle theft itself.
From Latin 'abigeus' (cattle thief), derived from 'abigere' meaning 'to drive away' (ab- 'away' + agere 'to drive'). The term was used in Roman law to describe this specific crime.
Cattle rustling was so serious in ancient Rome that they had a specific legal term for it—showing that rustling has been a cross-cultural crime problem for at least 2,000 years!
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