light-fingered

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English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From light (not heavy, adjective) +‎ fingered (having fingers, adjective).

Pronunciation

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  • enPR: lītʹfĭng'gərd

Adjective

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light-fingered (comparative lighter-fingered or more light-fingered, superlative lightest-fingered or most light-fingered)

  1. Having quick, light and nimble fingers.
  2. (figuratively) Having nimble fingers, especially for stealing or picking pockets (pickpocketing), given to thievery or shoplifting.
    • 1848 June 28, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Before the Curtain”, in Vanity Fair [], London: Bradbury and Evans [], →OCLC, page vii:
      There is a great quantity of eating and drinking, making love and jilting, laughing and the contrary, smoking, cheating, fighting, dancing and fiddling; [] yokels looking up at the tinselled dancers and poor old rouged tumblers, while the light-fingered folk are operating upon their pockets behind.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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light-fingered

  1. simple past and past participle of light-finger

See also

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