stole¹ (stōl)

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[Middle English, from Old English, from Latin stola, garment, robe, from Greek stolē.]

noun 

1. Ecclesiastical A long scarf, usually of embroidered silk or linen, worn over the left shoulder by deacons and over both shoulders by priests and bishops while officiating.
2. A woman's long scarf of cloth or fur worn about the shoulders.
3. A long robe or outer garment worn by matrons in ancient Rome.

stole² (stōl)

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verb 

Past tense of steal

steal (stēl)

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[Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan.]

verb: stole (stōl), sto·len (stṓlən), steal·ing, steals. 

transitive verb 

1. To take (the property of another) without right or permission.
2. To present or use (someone else's words or ideas) as one's own.
3. To get or take secretly or artfully: steal a look at a diary; steal the puck from an opponent.
4. To give or enjoy (a kiss) that is unexpected or unnoticed.
5. To draw attention unexpectedly in (an entertainment), especially by being the outstanding performer: The magician's assistant stole the show with her comic antics.
6. Baseball To advance safely to (another base) during the delivery of a pitch, without the aid of a base hit, walk, passed ball, or wild pitch.

intransitive verb 

1. To commit theft.
2. To move, happen, or elapse stealthily or unobtrusively.
3. Baseball To steal a base.

noun 

1. The act of stealing.
2. Slang A bargain.
3. Baseball A stolen base.
4. Basketball An act of gaining possession of the ball from an opponent.

idioms

steal (someone's) thunder

To use, appropriate, or preempt the use of another's idea, especially to one's own advantage and without consent by the originator.

derivatives

steaĺer

noun

synonyms:

steal, purloin, filch, snitch, pilfer, cop²hook, swipe, lift, pinch These verbs mean to take another's property wrongfully, often surreptitiously. Steal is the most general: stole a car; steals research from colleagues. To purloin is to make off with something, often in a breach of trust: purloined the key to his cousin's safe-deposit box. Filch and snitch often suggest that what is stolen is of little value, while pilfer sometimes connotes theft of or in small quantities: filched towels from the hotel; snitch a cookie; pilfered fruit from the farmer. Cop, hook, and swipe frequently connote quick, furtive snatching or seizing: copped a necklace from the counter; planning to hook a fur coat; swiped a magazine from the rack. To lift is to take something surreptitiously and keep it for oneself: a pickpocket who lifts wallets on the subway. Pinch suggests stealing something by or as if by picking it up between the thumb and the fingers: pinched a dollar from his mother's purse.