burgle

Etymology

Back-formation from burglar (1867)

verb

1. (Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) To commit burglary.
   In St. Louis, burglars burgle by daylight 1867-03-14, “This and That”, in Delaware Tribune, Wilmington, DE, page 1
   The New York World has coined a new verb -- "to burgle." 1867-08-24, Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, page 8
   The language grows apace. A "cablegram" has been received, and $400 have been "burgled." 1868-02-13, Louisville Daily Courier, Louisvile, KY, page 4
   Burgled his safe and bolted with the tin. 1868, John Brougham, Much Ado About a Merchant of Venice, New York: Samuel French, page 13
   [S]he went and burgled three pears out of the dish ... 1869, Joanna H. Mathews, Bessie at School, London: James Nisbet & Co., page 183
   Conceive the Great Lexicographer admitting to his Dictionary such excrescencies as: "Burgle, verb active, To break into a dwelling-house," 1870-02-05, “American Slangography”, in Punch, London, page 44
   Burglarize, to, a term creeping into journalism. ... The word has a dangerous rival in the shorter burgle. 1872, M. Schele De Vere, Americanisms: The English of the New World, New York: Charles Scribner, page 587
   When an American says, "I've been burgled" -- where an Englishman would say, "My house has been broken into by thieves" -- he succeeds in shortening the statement by more than half ... 1873-04-21, Albert Julius Mott, “Inaugural Address”, in Proceedings of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool, volume xxvii, London: Longman, Greens, Reader & Dyer, page 30
   Well, I hope to goodness the house won’t be burgled during the night. 1892, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Beryl Coronet”, in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2011
2. (UK, sports) To take the ball legally from an opposing player.
   And when scrum-half Ben Youngs, who had a poor game, was burgled by opposite number Irakli Abuseridze and the ball shipped down the line to Irakli Machkhaneli, it looked like Georgia had scored a try of their own, but the winger's foot was in touch. September 18, 2011, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia”, in BBC Sport
   Foden did his job admirably. The fact that both City goals came from burgling possession in the final third indicated how successfully City managed collectively to disrupt Real’s buildup play. 7 August 2020, Jonathan Liew, “Phil Foden stars to offer Manchester City glimpse of multiple futures”, in The Guardian