The plural of theft; instances of taking someone else's property without permission or legal right.
From Old English 'þeofth,' derived from 'theof' (thief). The root goes back to Proto-Germanic '*theubiz,' possibly meaning 'servant' before acquiring criminal connotations.
Interestingly, the word 'theft' is more formal than 'stealing'—lawyers use 'theft' to create professional distance from the moral act, showing how word choice sanitizes judgment.
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