peculate
/ˈpɛkjʊleɪt
/verb [with object] formal
Embezzle or steal (money, especially public funds): the people accused them of having peculated the public money [no object]: he was arrested for peculating from official funds
Derivatives
peculation
/ noun ...- Dishonesty, thievery, and peculation pervade the public sector.
- Salacious in a grubby way; even in his peculations there was no magnificence.
- He obtained his discharge, brought an accusation of peculation against some of his former officers, and in 1792 retired, first to France then to America, to avoid prosecution.
peculator
/ nounOrigin
Mid 18th century: from Latin peculat- 'embezzled', from the verb peculari (related to peculium 'property').