defalcate

[prettygoodword]

defalcate - v., to embezzle money held in trust for others for one's own use.


I could have stated that a little more succinctly, but the being a trustee of some sort appears to be key to the sense of this word. From Latin defalcare to deduct, orig. to cut off with a sickle, from de-, away + falx/falcis, a sickle.

---L.

Comments

[packbat.livejournal.com]

Nicely topical.