The act of stealing; the gerund form of 'thieve,' meaning to steal repeatedly or as a habit.
From Old English 'theof,' related to Germanic and Indo-European roots for 'theft.' Adding '-ing' makes it a noun describing the action or activity of stealing.
English has both 'stealing' and 'thieving,' but they've split into slightly different jobs—a 'thief' is a person, 'stealing' is the general action, and 'thieving' suggests habitual or professional theft.
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