stolenadj.
/ˈstəʊlən/, U.S. /ˈstoʊlən/ In senses of the verb.
1. Obtained by theft.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > [adjective] > stolen
stolenc1380
stole1393
thief-stolen1551
bribed1552
lifted1559
embezzled1603
purloined1607
felon1631
rifled1638
furtive1718
stealed1883
crook1900
hot-stuffed1929
liberated1944
nicked1955
ripped1971
c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 154 Þere comeþ a pardoner wiþ stollen bullis & false relekis.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 4875 Qua so es tan wid stoln thing, He wil þat do him to hing.
14.. Burgh Lawis lxxxvii, in Anc. Laws Scotl. (Burgh Rec. Soc.) 42 Of stollyn gudis fundyn in the fayre.
c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 201 Ȝif þou..kepyst treccherously in pryuite stolyn thynges or oþere thinges falsly get.
?a1600 ( R. Sempill Legend Bischop St. Androis in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlv. 363 Mercurius..Could not so weill of stowen geir tell, As could this vglie hund of hell.
1611 Bible (King James) Prov. ix. 17 Stollen waters are sweet. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. vi. 91 Do'st thou thinke Ile grace thee with that Robbery, thy stolne name Coriolanus in Corioles? View more context for this quotation
1652 H. Bell tr. M. Luther Colloquia Mensalia 309 The wealth of Popedom (saith Luther) is meerly robbed and stollen wealth.
1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. lxv. 301 The stolen goods were found upon him.
1861 F. A. Paley Æschylus' Supplices (ed. 2) 897 (note) [Hermes] the god of theft and abduction, and the recovery of stolen property.
1911 G. M. Trevelyan Garibaldi & Making of Italy vii. 147 The men were disconsolately cooking some stolen lambs.
2.
a. Accomplished or enjoyed by stealth, secret. Of a marriage: cf. steal v.1 5d.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > stealthy action, stealth > [adjective] > accomplished by stealth
stolenc1400
secret1548
clandestine1566
stealed1577
backdoor1581
underhand1592
surreptitial1602
surreptitious?1615
furtive1628
surreptious1630
by1633
surreptive1633
subreptitious1641
surreptitious1645
postern1648
backstairs1663
smuggled1707
underneath1747
underhanded1806
hidlingsa1810
hole-and-corner1835
side door1862
under-cover1933
under the table1938
crafty1946
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1659 Such semblaunt to þat segge semly ho made, Wyth stille stollen countenaunce.
?1624 G. Chapman tr. Hymn to Hermes in tr. Crowne Homers Wks. 57 To shunn, of his stolne steps, the Tract.
a1640 P. Massinger City-Madam (1658) ii. i. 106 And pleasures stol'n being sweetest [etc.].
1693 J. Dryden tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires x. 212 'Tis no stol'n Wedding, this; rejecting awe, She scorns to Marry, but in Form of Law.
1795 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 789 The bewitching, sweet, stown glance o' kindness.
1803 J. Porter Thaddeus of Warsaw i I have already erred enough in consenting to this stolen marriage.
1832 S. Warren Passages from Diary of Late Physician II. iv. 211 Few people, indeed, are so disposed to ‘make the most’ of their time at the opera as medical men, to whom it is a sort of stolen pleasure.
1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers liii. 574 Arabella wrote..to say she had made a stolen match without her husband's father's consent.
1884 J. Marshall's Tennis Cuts 65 We remembered that no cricket had ever been half so delightful as those stolen single-wicket matches in our night-gowns.
1905 R. Bagot Passport iii. 18 The girl at whom she had cast stolen glances of curiosity.
b. stolen march n. see steal v.1 5e.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > [noun] > advantage over another > an advantage > secret
stolen march1759
ace in the hole1908
1759 W. H. Dilworth Life of Pope 21 It appears by Mr. Pope's frequent stolen marches on the public [etc.].
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. xvi. 159 Our spirit took the alarm at this stolen march upon us.
c. Of a hen's nest: Made in a concealed place.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > a secret place, hiding place > [adjective] > of nest: hidden
stolen1854
1854 Poultry Chron. 1 615 Eggs are to be sought after, and what a triumph is the discovery of a stolen nest!
3. Of time: Obtained by contrivance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > spending time > [adjective] > saved or stolen
stolen1585
gained1850
1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 367/1 Stolne time, or time gotten by snatches from other busines.
1611 B. Jonson Catiline i. sig. B2v These my retirements, and stolne times for thought. View more context for this quotation
4. In Baseball: see quots.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > [adjective] > stolen (of base)
stolen1891
1891 N. Crane Baseball 61 The record is still hardly complete without showing the number of sacrifice hits and stolen bases by each player.
1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 79/2 (Baseball) Stolen Base, a base obtained by a runner without help from a hit by a batsman.
5. Of a crop: Interpolated in a rotation of crops.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > [adjective] > intercropped
stolen1861
intertilled1912
1861 Times 10 Oct. Stolen crops of winter vetches..being also taken.
6. Netting. Of a mesh: Intentionally missed. (See steal v.1 7b.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [adjective] > with open texture > net > mesh of > specific
stole1884
stolen1884
1884 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 359 Dead netting is a piece without either accrues or stole (stolen) meshes.
Compounds
stolen-wise adv. stealthily.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > stealthy action, stealth > [adverb]
softlyc1225
by stalea1240
privilya1250
slylyc1275
thieflyc1290
stealingly13..
by stealth1390
stalworthlya1400
theftfullyc1400
theftlyc1400
theftuouslyc1400
under veilc1425
thievishly?c1450
by theft1488
quietly1488
furtively1490
by surreption1526
hugger-muggera1529
in hugger-mugger1529
underhand1538
insidiously1545
creepingly1548
surreptiously1573
underboard1582
filchingly1583
sneakingly1598
underwater1600
slipperily1603
thief-likea1625
clandestinely1632
surreptitiously1643
thievously1658
clancularly1699
stownlins1786
stealthily1806
underhandedly1806
stolen-wise1813
on (upon, under, or by) the sly1818
round-the-corner1820
underhanded1823
stealthfully1828
slinkingly1830
slippingly1830
on the sneak?1863
sneakishly1867
behind backs1874
stalkingly1891
on the side1893
under the counter1926
underground1935
under the table1938
down and dirty1959
sneakily1966
1813 W. Scott Bridal of Triermain ii. xiii. 74 And Lancelot, that evermore Look'd stol'n-wise on the Queen.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1917; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.c1380