Etymology

thief in law

Today it means: A criminal who is respected, has authority and a high ranking status within the criminal underworld in the old Soviet Union, Russia and the republics that formed the former Soviet Union. Full definition →

Russian вор в зако́не
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The story

  1. Russian · calque ofвор в зако́не
  2. English todaythief in law

Calque of Russian вор в зако́не (vor v zakóne).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.