Meanings
verbpilfre (third-person singular simple present pilfres, present participle pilfring, simple past and past participle pilfred)
present singular third person pilfres · participle present pilfring · participle past pilfred · past pilfred
- ambitransitiveobsoleteObsolete spelling of pilfer.
[…] this man deſerues to be endited of pety larceny for pilfring other mens deuiſes from them […]
1589, Geo Puttentiam, chapter XXII, in The Arte of English Poesie, London: Richard Field, page 212
Origin
- Old Frenchpelfre“plunder, booty, spoils”
- Middle Englishpilfre“booty”
- Englishpilfre
From Middle English pilfre (“booty”), from Old French pelfre (“plunder, booty, spoils”), of unknown origin. Compare pelf.
More words from Middle English, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
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Cite this entry
APA
pilfre. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pilfre
MLA
“pilfre.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pilfre. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pilfre,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pilfre.
Source: pilfre on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.