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derubare

to rob

verb deh-roo-BAH-reh Rare
People & Society Crime

Origin: From de- + rubare ('to steal'), of Germanic origin (cf. Old High German roubon).

Also means

to steal from

Usage Note

Derubare takes a person as its direct object (derubare qualcuno), while rubare takes the thing stolen (rubare qualcosa). So one says mi hanno derubato del portafoglio ('they robbed me of my wallet') — never mi hanno rubato me. Both use avere as auxiliary.

Examples

"Qualcuno l'ha derubata in metropolitana."

Natural Translation

Someone robbed her on the subway.

Literal Translation

Someone her-has robbed on subway.

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