Third person singular of steal; takes someone else's property without permission; moves stealthily or quietly.
From Old English 'stelan', related to German 'stehlen' and Gothic 'stilan'. The 'moving quietly' meaning developed from the secretive nature required for theft.
The word steal beautifully demonstrates how criminal actions can generate metaphorical language - 'stealing the show', 'stealing someone's heart', or 'stealing away quietly' all borrow from the original concept of taking something without permission or notice.
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