late 15c., with -y (3) + Anglo-French larcin (late 13c.), from Old French larrecin, larcin "theft, robbery" (11c.), from Latin latrocinium "robbery, freebooting, highway-robbery, piracy," from latro "robber, bandit," also "hireling, mercenary," ultimately from a Greek source akin to latron "pay, hire, wages," from a suffixed form of PIE root *le- "to get."
Theft; taking another person's property with the intent of permanently depriving the owner.
in criminal law, the trespassory taking and carrying away of personal goods from the possession of another with intent to steal. Larceny is one of the specific crimes included in the general category of theft (q.v.).