Peculators

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of individuals who engage in the misappropriation or theft of public funds or assets for personal gain
2. Individuals who unlawfully take or divert money or property entrusted to their care, often in a corruption context
3. Persons involved in embezzlement or fraudulent activities that exploit their position of authority for financial benefit

Etymology: "Peculators" is the plural of "peculator," and the surprise lies in the Latin word it comes from: "pecūlium" meant private property, specifically a small savings or holding that a slave or son was allowed to own, and it derives from "pecus," livestock or cattle. Wealth in early Rome was measured in herds, so a person's personal possession was tied to the animals they held. The verb "pecūlor" grew from that root to mean "to embezzle," that is, to turn someone else's property to one's own use. The Latin noun "pecūlātor," meaning embezzler, is the direct ancestor of the English term. The shift from a modest private holding to a word for stealing from the public purse shows how a neutral idea of personal property could be turned into a charge of theft. The English word carries that Roman sense of misappropriation, most often applied to officials who divert funds entrusted to them.

Synonyms: embezzlers, thieves