Peculate

Peculate is a verb that means to embezzle. Our word of the day comes from the Latin word peculum (PECK ooh loom) which originally meant ‘cattle,’ but later cam to mean ‘private property.’ Peculate evolved as a word to describe the stealing of one’s private property. Stan never guessed his trusted friend would peculate his money behind his back, but that’s exactly what later happened. It just goes to show that embezzlement is something anyone is capable of.