Klepto

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈklɛptoʊ/

Definitions

1. An individual characterized by an uncontrollable compulsion to take items belonging to others without their consent
2. A person who experiences a persistent urge to steal possessions, often without need or justification
3. Someone who habitually takes things that are not theirs due to an irresistible impulse

Etymology: Ancient Greek "kleptein" meant simply "to steal," and a "kleptes" was a thief. The modern sense, a compulsion to steal, came much later. The term "kleptomania" joins "kleptein" to "mania," the Greek word for madness or frenzy. It is usually credited to the French physician Jean-Étienne Esquirol, who used it for people who stole without need or profit. The ancient Greeks had no concept of this as a distinct disorder. "Klepto" is a shortening of "kleptomaniac," trimmed to its first syllables in the same way as "bus" from "omnibus" and "pram" from "perambulator." As an adjective it modifies a noun directly, as in "klepto habits."