*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of heist

Probably pronunciation variation of hoist.

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A robbery or burglary, especially from an institution such as a bank or museum. · A fiction genre in which a heist is central to the plot; a work in such a genre.

verb

To steal, rob, or hold up (something).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Probably pronunciation variation of hoist.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "hoist",
      "hoist#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A robbery or burglary, especially from an institution such as a bank or museum.",
        "A fiction genre in which a heist is central to the plot; a work in such a genre."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "0df178ef93acb975f09d466f7df4bded812c26bfb1a9d00bc80c0d77905a0666",
      "rawRecordSha256": "afde7e93ab25aaf07313a6116ce01347f1548f421a16e604bb87548fc25b4e29",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 307603
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To steal, rob, or hold up (something)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "f6981b4a4078aad3004f1c467b1a502a2f0226c4e646e072b641eb79979b6a44",
      "rawRecordSha256": "75e7b21864a6fae8a29b3609521e3582419f631462258efbacb564b13bd256ef",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 307604
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for heist →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-aGVpc3Q