[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

thief \thief\ th=ef, n.; pl. thieves th=evz. oe.
   thef, theef, as. thorne'of; akin to ofries. thiaf, os.
   theof, thiof, d. dief, g. dieb, ohg. diob, icel.
   thornj=ofr, sw. tjuf, dan. tyv, goth. thorniufs,
   thorniubs, and perhaps to lith. tupeti to squat or crouch
   down. cf. theft.
   1. one who steals; one who commits theft or larceny. see
      theft.
      1913 webster

            there came a privy thief, men clepeth death.
                                                  --chaucer.
      1913 webster

            where thieves break through and steal. --matt. vi.
                                                  19.
      1913 webster

   2. a waster in the snuff of a candle. --bp. hall.
      1913 webster

   thief catcher. same as thief taker.

   thief leader, one who leads or takes away a thief.
      --l'estrange.

   thief taker, one whose business is to find and capture
      thieves and bring them to justice.

   thief tube, a tube for withdrawing a sample of a liquid
      from a cask.

   thieves' vinegar, a kind of aromatic vinegar for the sick
      room, taking its name from the story that thieves, by
      using it, were enabled to plunder, with impunity to
      health, in the great plague at london. eng.
      1913 webster

   syn: robber; pilferer.

   usage: thief, robber. a thief takes our property by
          stealth; a robber attacks us openly, and strips us by
          main force.
          1913 webster

                take heed, have open eye, for thieves do foot by
                night.                            --shak.
          1913 webster

                some roving robber calling to his fellows.
                                                  --milton.
          1913 webster
see also:
thieves theft thief catcher thief taker thief leader thief tube 
thieves' vinegar thief robber 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

waster \wast"er\, n. oe. wastour, of. wasteor, gasteor. see
   waste, v. t.
   1913 webster
   1. one who, or that which, wastes; one who squanders; one who
      consumes or expends extravagantly; a spendthrift; a
      prodigal.
      1913 webster

            he also that is slothful in his work is brother to
            him that is a great waster.           --prov. xviii.
                                                  9.
      1913 webster

            sconces are great wasters of candles. --swift.
      1913 webster

   2. an imperfection in the wick of a candle, causing it to
      waste; -- called also a thief. --halliwell.
      1913 webster

   3. a kind of cudgel; also, a blunt-edged sword used as a
      foil.
      1913 webster

            half a dozen of veneys at wasters with a good fellow
            for a broken head.                    --beau.  fl.
      1913 webster

            being unable to wield the intellectual arms of
            reason, they are fain to betake them unto wasters.
                                                  --sir t.
                                                  browne.
      1913 webster
see also:
waste thief 

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

thief
     n : a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with
         the intention of keeping it or selling it syn: stealer
     also: thieves pl
see also:
stealer thieves 

[4] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

92 moby thesaurus words for "thief":
   judas, bad person, bandit, betrayer, booster, brigand, buccaneer,
   burglar, cat burglar, cat man, charlatan, cheat, con artist,
   con man, confidence man, convict, corsair, cracksman, criminal,
   crook, cutpurse, dacoit, deceiver, delinquent, desperado,
   desperate criminal, dip, double-dealer, embezzler, evildoer, felon,
   filcher, filibuster, flimflam man, footpad, freebooter, fugitive,
   gallows bird, gangster, gaolbird, gunman, highwayman, hijacker,
   housebreaker, jailbird, kleptomaniac, larcener, larcenist,
   lawbreaker, lifter, malefactor, malevolent, malfeasant, malfeasor,
   marauder, misfeasor, mobster, mountebank, mugger, nip, outlaw,
   peculator, picaroon, pickpocket, pilferer, pirate, plunderer,
   poacher, prig, privateer, public enemy, purloiner, quisling,
   racketeer, robber, ruffian, scofflaw, sea rover, second-story man,
   sharper, shoplifter, sinner, stealer, swindler, thug, traitor,
   transgressor, trickster, two-timer, villain, worker of ill,
   wrongdoer

[5] : Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)

thief, crimes. one who has been guilty of larceny or theft. 

Thief >> T Words
Thief, definition of term: Thief
thief_pag1.html

Cattle Thief >> C Words
Cattle Thief, definition of term: Cattle Thief
cattle+thief_pag1.html