Manbiki (万引き - Shoplifting)

Never do an act called "manbiki" (万引き).

"Manbiki" means to take items of a store away without payment and permission -- it's called "shoplifting" in English.

The most accepted theory about the etymology of "manbiki" is that it was changed from "mabiki" (間引き).

The "ma" (間) means "between something," the "biki/hiki" (引き) means "to pull out," and "mabiki" usually means "thinning" in agricultural science.

It's thought that since removing items from a shelf is similar to thinning, "mabiki" came to mean "shoplifting," then it changed to "manbiki."

万引き

決して「万引き」をしていまいけません。

「万引き」とは、代金を支払わずに無断で店の商品を持ち去る行為のことを指します。

「万引き」の語源として最も有力な説は、「間引き」が変化したというものです。

「間」は "between something,' 「引き」は "to pull out" を意味し、「間引き」は農業などにおける "thinning" を意味します。

棚に並んだ商品を間引きするように持ち去ることから、「間引き」は「盗む」のような意味を持つようになり、「万引き」になったと考えられます。