Dictionary

pilferage en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈpɪlf(ə)ɹɪd͡ʒ/

Etymology

Etymology tree English pilfer Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus Latin -āticus Latin -āticum Old French -agebor. Middle English -age English -age English pilferage From pilfer + -age.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The individual act or recurring practice of stealing items of low value, especially in small quantities, for which the legal term is petty theft.
   • Still, there is pilferage, mysterious discrepancies eating into the percentages. 1981, John Updike, Rabbit is Rich:
   • Sir Thomas Royden, Chairman of the L.M.S.R., and Mr. Robert Holland-Martin, Chairman of the Southern Railway, both deplored the wholesale robbery and petty pilferage which have increased until they have reached appalling dimensions. 1942 May-June, “Theft on the Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 130:

Forms

Translations (9)

ms kecopetan (theft) · pl podkradanie (theft) · sh potkradanje (theft) · bg дребна кражба (theft) · fi näpistely (theft) · nl kruimeldiefstal (theft) · ru разворовывание (theft) · fr chapardage (theft) · ms pengetekan (theft)