klepto

1 of 2

noun

klep·to ˈklep-(ˌ)tō

plural kleptos

Synonyms of klepto next

: kleptomaniac

klepto-

2 of 2

Examples of klepto in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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Noun

America doesn't need your klepto-crude. —

Peter Weber, The Week, 9 Mar. 2022 What could be worse than the klepto-managers of Wall Street? —

Scott Burns, Dallas News, 23 June 2020 The first trilogy borrowed greedily from Flash Gordon and Japanese samurai movies, and set a precedent for future klepto-cinema. —

Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 20 Dec. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Combining form

borrowed from Late Greek, combining form from Greek kléptēs "thief," kléptein "to steal," from a base klep-, going back to an Indo-European verb *klep- "steal, conceal," whence also Gothic hlifan "to steal," Latin clepere, Tocharian B kälyp- "steal"

Note: If Tocharian B klep- "touch with the fingers, investigate," kälp- "get, obtain" pertain, the original meaning of the Indo-European etymon was broader.

First Known Use

Noun

1953, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of klepto was in 1953

See more words from the same year