| arch., law |
a thief caught in the very act, having the thing stolen in his hand (In Anglo-Saxon law, handhabend (also spelled hand-habend or hand-habende) was a term applied to a thief who was found having the stolen goods in his possession. "Handhabend" is derived from "having [a thing] in his hand"); having stolen goods in the hand (of a thief) having stolen goods in the hand, that is in the very act of stealing; ‘red-handed' (chiefly in predicative use). Also (in attributive use) of a theft: discovered while the thief was in the act of stealing  lexico.com) |
