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Stealing cattle on a large scale. [Obs.]

One who steals and drives away cattle or beasts by herds or droves. [Obs.]

an insurrection. "The whole tribe abets the villany." South. Would not the fool abet the stealth, Who rashly thus exposed his wealth Gay.

To depart clandestinely; to steal off and secrete one's self; -- used especially of persons who withdraw to avoid a legal process; as, an absconding debtor. That very homesickness which, in regular armies, drives so many recruits to abscond. Macaulay.

Animating spirit; intention; temper. nimus furandi Etym: [L.] (Law), intention of stealing.

is, those sins which idleness and beggary usually betray men to; such as lying, flattery, stealing, and dissimulation. Jer. Taylor.

To steal; to take possession of. [Slang]

To rob or steal. [Obs.] Chaucer.

A run made upon a missed ball; as, to steal a bye. T. Hughes. By the bye, in passing; by way of digression; apropos to the matter in hand. [Written also by the by.]

To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to catch one in the act of stealing.

Like a cat; stealthily; noiselessly.

Easily or distinctly heard; audible; canorous. Hark! the numbers soft and clear Gently steal upon the ear. Pope.

clutch of poverty." Cowper. An expiring clutch at popularity. Carlyle. But Age, with his stealing steps, Hath clawed me in his clutch. Shak.

Perfectly safe. [Obs.] We steal as in a castle, cocksure: . . . we walk invisible. Shak.

To carry or take away secretly; to steal; to thieve. [Obs.]

To move in a stealthy or secret manner; to move imperceptibly or clandestinely; to steal in; to insinuate itself or one's self; as, age creeps upon us. The sothistry which creeps into most of the books of argument. Locke. Of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women. 2. Tim. iii. 6.…

To pilfer or purloin; hence, to steal from an author; to appropriate; to plagiarize; as, to crib a line from Milton. [Colloq.] Child, being fond of toys, cribbed the necklace. Dickens.

Purloining; stealing; plagiarizing. [Colloq.]

ntic coast (Ctenolabrus adspersus); -- called also chogset, burgall, blue perch, and bait stealer. [Written also conner.]

One who cuts purses for the sake of stealing them or their contents (an act common when men wore purses fastened by a string to their girdles); one who steals from the person; a pickpocket To have an open ear, a quick eye, and a nimble hand, is necessary for a cutpurse. Shak.