| Word | embezzle |
|---|---|
| Date | July 14, 2019 |
| Type | verb |
| Syllables | im-BEZZ-ul |
| Etymology | English has a lot of verbs that mean "to steal," including pilfer, rob, swipe, plunder, filch, and thieve. Embezzle differs from these by stressing the improper appropriation of property to which a person is entrusted—often in the form of company funds. First appearing in English in the 15th century, embezzle derives via Middle English from the Anglo-French embesiller, meaning "to make away," formed from the prefix en- and the verb besiller, meaning "to steal or plunder." Related to embezzle is bezzle, a verb used in some British English dialects to mean "to waste or plunder" or "to drink or eat to excess." |
| Examples | The company's senior accounts manager embezzled thousands of dollars from her employer by way of a loophole in the accounting procedures. "A 43-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to six years in federal prison after pleading guilty to embezzling more than $3.4 million from a Dallas-based design and construction company." — The Associated Press, 21 May 2018 |
| Definition | : to appropriate (something, such as property entrusted to one's care) fraudulently to one's own use |
Tags: wordoftheday::verb
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