ħalliel

Formally an agent noun of ħall (“to loosen, untie, dissolve”), from Arabic حَلَّ‎ (ḥalla). Thus perhaps “he who detaches something and takes it”. More probably, however, based on a related sense of the Arabic root, namely “allowed, free from restriction” as in حَلال‎ (ḥalāl). Compare أَحَلَّ‎ (ʾaḥalla, “to make allowed, unrestricted”), اِسْتَحَلَّ‎ (istaḥalla, “to consider lawful, unprotected by law, allowed to be taken; to desecrate”), and اِحْتَلَّ‎ (iḥtalla, “to invade, occupy”). In Arabic, حَرامِيّ‎ (ḥarāmiyy) is also widely used to mean “thief”, which is not a contradiction, but the same from the opposite perspective.

• IPA^(key): /ħalˈlɪːl/

ħalliel m (plural ħallelin)

1. thief