chicken thiefn.

Brit.

/ˈtʃɪk(ᵻ)n θiːf/, U.S.

/ˈtʃɪkən ˌθif/

Inflections: Plural chicken thieves.

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: chicken n., thief n.

Etymology: < chicken n. + thief n.

Originally and chiefly U.S.

†1. colloquial. A small commercial sailing boat used for trading commodities on the banks of the Mississippi; the proprietor of such a boat. Obsolete.Perhaps named for the traders' willingness to accept chickens in lieu of monetary payment.

ΚΠ

1826 N.-Y. Spectator 3 July The City of Pedlars...in chicken-thief, barge, broad-horn, or flat-boat, keel-boat, row-boat, no boat, every thing but a tow-boat.

1839 N.Y. Morning Herald 1 Mar. 4/1 The six negroes who participated in the murder of the two white chicken thieves, as they are denominated, were executed.

1856 F. L. Olmsted Journey Slave States 675 He had lately caught one of his own negroes going towards one of the ‘chicken thieves’..with a piece of machinery..which was worth eighty dollars, and which might very likely have been sold for a drink.

1878 E. Eggleston Roxy I. xxxiii. 233 The mail boats were built light of draught..; the stern-wheelers and the insignificant, old-fashioned ‘chicken-thieves’ were still lighter.

2. A person who steals chickens.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > petty thief or pilferer > [noun]

mitcher?c1225

nimmera1325

pilferer1350

truffer1485

lurcher1528

picker1549

filcher1557

purloiner1557

prig1567

prigger1567

prigman1567

fingerer1575

piker1590

prag1592

nibbler1598

lurch-man1603

petty larcener1640

budge1673

catch-cloaka1679

prigster1682

sutler1699

marauder1764

snib1823

chicken thief1840

lurker1841

souvenir hunter1862

robberling1865

jackdaw1887

miker1890

frisker1892

bower-bird1926

jagoff1931

magpie1944

slockster-

1840 Amer. Anti-slavery Almanack 43 Deacon Honesty always rebuked a chicken thief, by bawling in his ears the eighth commandment, while paying him his price for the fowls as fast as he wrung their necks.

1909 Harper's Weekly 29 May 33/1 The chicken-thieves had stolen more than a ton of birds, valued at not less than three hundred dollars.

1965 Daily Mail 13 Nov. 1/1 A chicken thief in Ohio was given the job of plucking and dressing 100 birds for the coming police dinner instead of the usual stay in jail.

2012 C. Donally Big Kitty vi. 74 She scrolled back through various stories until she found a quote from the Ellsworths describing the chicken thief.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	chicken thief
释义	chicken thiefn. Brit. /ˈtʃɪk(ᵻ)n θiːf/, U.S. /ˈtʃɪkən ˌθif/ Inflections: Plural chicken thieves. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: chicken n., thief n. Etymology: < chicken n. + thief n. Originally and chiefly U.S. †1. colloquial. A small commercial sailing boat used for trading commodities on the banks of the Mississippi; the proprietor of such a boat. Obsolete.Perhaps named for the traders' willingness to accept chickens in lieu of monetary payment. ΚΠ 1826 N.-Y. Spectator 3 July The City of Pedlars...in chicken-thief, barge, broad-horn, or flat-boat, keel-boat, row-boat, no boat, every thing but a tow-boat. 1839 N.Y. Morning Herald 1 Mar. 4/1 The six negroes who participated in the murder of the two white chicken thieves, as they are denominated, were executed. 1856 F. L. Olmsted Journey Slave States 675 He had lately caught one of his own negroes going towards one of the ‘chicken thieves’..with a piece of machinery..which was worth eighty dollars, and which might very likely have been sold for a drink. 1878 E. Eggleston Roxy I. xxxiii. 233 The mail boats were built light of draught..; the stern-wheelers and the insignificant, old-fashioned ‘chicken-thieves’ were still lighter. 2. A person who steals chickens. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > petty thief or pilferer > [noun] mitcher?c1225 nimmera1325 pilferer1350 truffer1485 lurcher1528 picker1549 filcher1557 purloiner1557 prig1567 prigger1567 prigman1567 fingerer1575 piker1590 prag1592 nibbler1598 lurch-man1603 petty larcener1640 budge1673 catch-cloaka1679 prigster1682 sutler1699 marauder1764 snib1823 chicken thief1840 lurker1841 souvenir hunter1862 robberling1865 jackdaw1887 miker1890 frisker1892 bower-bird1926 jagoff1931 magpie1944 slockster- 1840 Amer. Anti-slavery Almanack 43 Deacon Honesty always rebuked a chicken thief, by bawling in his ears the eighth commandment, while paying him his price for the fowls as fast as he wrung their necks. 1909 Harper's Weekly 29 May 33/1 The chicken-thieves had stolen more than a ton of birds, valued at not less than three hundred dollars. 1965 Daily Mail 13 Nov. 1/1 A chicken thief in Ohio was given the job of plucking and dressing 100 birds for the coming police dinner instead of the usual stay in jail. 2012 C. Donally Big Kitty vi. 74 She scrolled back through various stories until she found a quote from the Ellsworths describing the chicken thief. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1826
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