theeve

Updated: July 1, 2026

Wright gives theave or theeve as the commoner forms, and in the Paston letters it is theyve, which perhaps confirms thaive, rhymed here with 'rave'. Certainly it is most advisable to avoid thieves, the plural of thief, although O.E.D. allows this pronunciation and indeed puts it first of the alternatives. 'On the pathway side ... the glintering flint'. O.E.D. gives #glinter# as a 'rare' word.

Society for Pure English - Society for Pure English, Tract 05: The Englishing of French Words; the Dialectal Words in Blunden's Poems