WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Theft
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [OE. thefte, AS. ?i?fthe, ?\'dffthe, ?e?fthe. See Thief.]
Definition : 1. (Law)

Defn: The act of stealing; specifically, the felonious taking and removing of personal property, with an intent to deprive the rightful owner of the same; larceny.

Note: To constitute theft there must be a taking without the owner's consent, and it must be unlawful or felonious; every part of the property stolen must be removed, however slightly, from its former position; and it must be, at least momentarily, in the complete possession of the thief. See Larceny, and the Note under Robbery.

2. The thing stolen. [R.] If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, . . . he shall restore double. Ex. xxii. 4.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913