Etymograph

English

purloin

Purloin comes from Anglo-Norman purloigner ‘to put far away’, from Old French porloignier ‘to delay’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pró ‘toward’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pró1‘toward’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*prō1‘for’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprō2‘for’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEprōlongāre2
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400porloignier3‘to delay’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400purloigner3‘to put far away’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500purloynen3‘to remove’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1622purloin3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin pro
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French porloignier
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English purloin
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1622, William Gouge, Of Domestical Duties: “The Apostle expressly forbiddeth servants to purloin (Titus 2:10).”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*próWiktionary, Latin pro‘toward’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*prōWiktionary, Latin pro‘for’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōWiktionary, Old French porloignier‘for’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEprōlongāreWiktionary, Old French porloignier
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400porloignierWiktionary, English purloin‘to delay’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400purloignerWiktionary, English purloin‘to put far away’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500purloynenWiktionary, English purloin‘to remove’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1622purloinWiktionary, English purloin. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1622, William Gouge, Of Domestical Duties: “The Apostle expressly forbiddeth servants to purloin (Titus 2:10).”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pró ‘toward’

prior, proton, prolactin, 8 more

through Latin prō ‘for’

pro, prominent, prone, 4 more

Today it means

verb To take the property of another, often in breach of trust; to appropriate wrongfully; to steal.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “purloin”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin pro, Old French porloignier. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pró / purloin

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