Etymology

water-thief

Today it means: A thief or robber on the water, hence, a pirate. Full definition →

Ancient Greek κλεψύδρα
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

water-thief · noun1

From water + thief.

water-thief · noun2

  1. Ancient Greek · calque ofκλεψύδρα“pipette”
  2. English todaywater-thief

Calque of Ancient Greek κλεψύδρα (klepsúdra, “pipette”, literally “water-thief”), equivalent to water + thief.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekκλεψύδρα all →

clepsydra

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.