1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Pelf

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Pelew Islands

1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 21

Pelf

Pelham

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See also Plunder and Pilfer on Wikipedia; and our 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica disclaimer.

34392591911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 21 — Pelf

PELF, a term now chiefly used of money and always in a derogatory sense. The word originally meant plunder, pillage (O. Fr. pelfre, probably from Lat. pilare, to deprive of hair, pilus), and this significance is still kept in the related word “pilfer,” to make petty thefts.