larcenous

the word 'larcenous' is built upon the noun 'larceny', which entered english in the 15th century from the anglo-french term larcin. this, in turn, derives from the latin latrocinium, a word for robbery or banditry, related to latro, meaning 'mercenary' or 'bandit'. the suffix '-ous', of latin origin, is added to form an adjective meaning 'characterized by' or 'full of'. thus, the literal construction 'full of theft' logically evolved into the modern abstract meaning describing a thievish disposition or intent.

Structure: larcen (theft) + ous (adjective suffix) larcen (from anglo-french larcin, meaning 'theft', ultimately from latin latrocinium, meaning 'robbery, banditry') + ous (a suffix forming adjectives, from latin -osus, meaning 'full of, prone to').