light-fingered en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- lītʹfĭng'gərd
Etymology
From light (“not heavy”, adjective) + fingered (“having fingers”, adjective).
Meanings
- Having quick, light and nimble fingers.
-
(figuratively) Having nimble fingers, especially for stealing or picking pockets (pickpocketing), given to thievery or shoplifting.
There is a great quantity of eating and drinking, making love and jilting, laughing and the contrary, smoking, cheating, fighting, dancing and fiddling; […] yokels looking up at the tinselled dancers and poor old rouged tumblers, while the light-fingered folk are operating upon their pockets behind.
1848 June 28, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Before the Curtain”, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], →OCLC, page vii:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| lighter-fingered | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| lightfingered | alternative | lexicographic | |
| lightest-fingered | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more light-fingered | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most light-fingered | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Hypernyms
evil · immoral · criminal · predatory
Hyponyms
Relateds
thief · furtive · theft · steal
Synonyms
thievish · light-fingered · furacious · theftuous · sticky-fingered
Translations (14)
mi ringa kamakama (given to stealing, pickpocketing, thievery, shoplifting) · la tagax (given to stealing, pickpocketing, thievery, shoplifting) · bg крадлив (given to stealing, pickpocketing, thievery, shoplifting) · es amigo de lo ajeno (given to stealing, pickpocketing, thievery, shoplifting) · fi pitkäkyntinen (given to stealing, pickpocketing, thievery, shoplifting) · bg сръчен (having quick, light and nimble fingers) · cmn 手指靈巧的 /手指灵巧的 (having quick, light and nimble fingers) · cmn 巧手的 (given to stealing, pickpocketing, thievery, shoplifting) · es dedos largos (given to stealing, pickpocketing, thievery, shoplifting) · pl o lepkich rękach (given to stealing, pickpocketing, thievery, shoplifting) · bg изкусен (having quick, light and nimble fingers) · fi näppäräsorminen (having quick, light and nimble fingers) · la fūrax (given to stealing, pickpocketing, thievery, shoplifting) · pl zręczny (having quick, light and nimble fingers)