The term burglar has an interesting etymology. It originated from the Anglo-Latin word burglator in the thirteenth century, which was derived from the Medieval Latin word burgator. The addition of the letter ‘l’ in the word was influenced by the Latin word for “thief”, latro. The root of burgator comes from the Latin verb burgare, meaning “to break open”, which itself is based on the noun burgus meaning “castle”. This connection suggests the concept of breaking open a castle’s defenses. Interestingly, the verbs burgle and burglarize emerged as humorous back-formations of burglary during the 1860s on both sides of the Atlantic.
