Robber - stealer - thief - burglar

[ookami]

Which are the differences in the use of:

rober - stealer - thief - burglar - the ones I'm forgetting

Formal differences more than nothing, if they are slang or a costume usage please remark it.

Thanks.

[chileno]

Busca en el dicionario acá en Tomísimo y tambien and a este enlace:http://forums.tomisimo.org/showthrea...hlight=burglar

[Tomisimo]

They are fairly synonymous, but there are slight differences. Associated verbs in parenthesis.

robber — someone who steals by force, violence, or threat (to rob, to commit robbery)
thief — someone who steals secretly or stealthily (to commit theft)
stealer — someone who takes something that does not belong to them or that they don't have a right to take (to steal)
purloiner — someone who takes something wrongfully (to purloin)
pilferer — someone who steals secretly/stealthily in small amounts over time (to pilfer)
larcenist — (this is more of a legal term) someone who takes something unlawfully with the intention of depriving its rightful owner of it permanently (to commit larceny). There is also "grand larceny" which has a specific legal meaning.
shoplifter — someone who steals products on display in a store (to shoplift)
burglar — someone who enters a house/building at night without permission with the intent to commit a crime (to burgle, to commit burglary)

There are also other verbs that are synonymous with "to steal"— to lift, to borrow, to jack, to swipe, to nick.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Tomisimo

They are fairly synonymous, but there are slight differences. Associated verbs in parenthesis.

robber — someone who steals by force, violence, or threat (to rob, to commit robbery)
thief — someone who steals secretly or stealthily (to commit theft)
stealer — someone who takes something that does not belong to them or that they don't have a right to take (to steal)
purloiner — someone who takes something wrongfully (to purloin)
pilferer — someone who steals secretly/stealthily in small amounts over time (to pilfer)
larcenist — (this is more of a legal term) someone who takes something unlawfully with the intention of depriving its rightful owner of it permanently (to commit larceny). There is also "grand larceny" which has a specific legal meaning.
shoplifter — someone who steals products on display in a store (to shoplift)

There are also other verbs that are synonymous with "to steal"— to lift, to borrow, to jack, to swipe, to nick.

These last examples are slang, aren't they?

[Tomisimo]

Originally Posted by chileno

These last examples are slang, aren't they?

The verbs at the very end? Yes.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Tomisimo

The verbs at the very end? Yes.

Just checking...

[ookami]

Thanks! now I understand.
And burglar? as synonym of stealer is right?

[Tomisimo]

Originally Posted by ookami

Thanks! now I understand.
And burglar? as synonym of stealer is right?

I was editing post #3 while Chileno was responding to it, and I added burglar there.

[María José]

Another one: a mugger: someone who steals by threatening or performing violence.

It's also important to notice the difference between to rob and to steal (often confused by Spanish-speaking people)
I was robbed
My purse was stolen

The bank was robbed
A lot of money was stolen

And one more I've just remembered: pickpocket (carterista in Spanish)

[pjt33]

No puedo creer que "stealer" es una palabra en EEUUense. No está en mi diccionario Oxford ni en el Cambridge Advanced Learners' Dictionary, que suele ser una fuente maravillosa para diferencias entre RUense y EEUUense.