abigei
n. C2 Proficiency abigei
n. a person who steals or kills animals, especially horses. This is an old word from the 1600s that you will rarely see in modern books.
n. a person who commits the crime of abetting or assisting in the theft or destruction of livestock. An archaic term primarily found in historical legal texts.
The old law punished abigei with heavy fines.
In the seventeenth century, the term abigei was used to describe those who helped others steal cattle.
Legal historians note that the term abigei was often used in early modern statutes to distinguish between the principal thief and the secondary accomplice who provided logistical support.