kleptomaniac (n.)

还有 cleptomania，1830年，由 mania 和希腊词 kleptes “小偷，骗子”组成，源自 kleptein “偷窃，秘密行动”，源自 PIE *klep- “偷窃”（是根词 *kel- (1) “覆盖，隐藏，保存”的扩展）； 与拉丁语 clepere “偷窃，偷听”，古普鲁士语 au-klipts “隐藏的”，古教会斯拉夫语 poklopu “覆盖，包装”，哥特语 hlifan “偷窃”， hliftus “小偷”同源。

这个词在19世纪备受嘲笑，被视为过时盗窃的花哨术语，也是特权阶层声称犯罪行为有心理动机的机会。

There is a popular belief that some of the criminal laws under which the poor are rigorously punished are susceptible of remarkable elasticity when the peccadilloes of the rich are brought under judgment, and that there is some truth in the old adage which declares that "one man may steal a horse where another dare not look over the hedge." This unwholesome distrust is not likely to diminish if, in cases of criminal prosecutions where so-called respectable persons commit theft without sufficiently obvious motive for the act, they have their crime extenuated on the plea of kleptomania, as has recently occurred in several notable instances. ["Kleptomania," The Lancet, Nov. 16, 1861]

有一种普遍的观念，即一些严厉惩罚穷人的刑法在富人的过错受到审判时具有显著的弹性，而且有些人相信古老的格言“一个人可以偷马，而另一个人不敢越过篱笆看”。如果在刑事起诉案件中，所谓的体面人犯下偷窃行为，而行为的动机不够明显，他们的罪行被以盗窃癖为由减轻，这种不健康的不信任是不太可能减少的，正如最近发生在几个显著案例中的情况。["Kleptomania," The Lancet, Nov. 16, 1861]

“盗窃狂”（kleptomaniac）的拉丁化变体。相关词汇： Cleptomania。

1914年（形容词）； 1919年（名词）； 缩写形式为 kleptomaniac 的简称。