the.com/stole
The past tense that admits guilt before the sentence even finishes.
means The past-tense form of 'steal,' used to say that someone took something without permission or right, before anyone's even explained the circumstances.
from Traces back to Old English 'stælan,' part of a verb family common across the Germanic languages (related to Old Norse 'stela' and German 'stehlen'), all orbiting the same ancient idea of taking secretly. The irregular past tense 'stole' survives from that old Germanic pattern of changing the vowel inside the word to mark past tense, rather than tacking on an ending — the same trick that gives us 'sing/sang' and 'break/broke.'
- grammar twist
- irregular past tense of steal, no 'ed' allowed
- fashion cousin
- also a fancy fur or cloth shoulder wrap
- etymology clash
- steal and stole share Old English roots, both sneaky
- heart version
- stole my heart means theft felt as flattery