pilferage

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree English pilfer Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus Latin -āticus Latin -āticum Old French -agebor. Middle English -age English -age English pilferage From pilfer + -age.

1. The individual act or recurring practice of stealing items of low value, especially in small quantities, for which the legal term is petty theft.

   “Sir Thomas Royden, Chairman of the L.M.S.R., and Mr. Robert Holland-Martin, Chairman of the Southern Railway, both deplored the wholesale robbery and petty pilferage which have increased until they have reached appalling dimensions.”

   “Still, there is pilferage, mysterious discrepancies eating into the percentages.”