What does voled mean?
Voled is an obsolete English verb form rather than a modern standalone word. It is the simple past and past participle of vol, an old verb meaning “to steal” or “to rob.” Consequently, voled can describe the action as “robbed,” as in “the raider voled the horses,” or function as a participle meaning “stolen,” as in “the horses were voled.” In older writing, it carries associations of theft, plunder, and violent seizure. The form has virtually disappeared from ordinary use, so modern speakers would normally say stole, stolen, or robbed instead. Its principal interest lies in illustrating how older English preserved familiar roots in grammatical forms that later fell out of use. It may also cause confusion with voiced, a common word associated with vocal-fold vibration, pronunciation, and decisions made by voting. Nevertheless, voled belongs to an archaic verbal paradigm and should not normally be used in present-day writing.
verbAn obsolete past-tense and past-participle form of vol, meaning "robbed" or "stolen."
- Robbed or plundered, as the simple past of vol.
- Stolen or robbed, as the past participle of vol.
"The raider voled the horses from the stable."
"The raider voled the horses from the stable."
"The horses were voled during the night."
“Voled” survives as a linguistic fossil: once the ordinary way to say “stolen” or “robbed.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of voled
Voled comes from the obsolete English verb vol, meaning “to steal; rob,” which was borrowed from Old French voler. It represents the past-tense and past-participle forms of that older verb, whose plain form has since fallen out of ordinary use. The wider Romance derivation is associated with Latin volare, a root also underlying English words such as volant and volatile.
How voled is actually used
This form is now obsolete and is encountered chiefly in older literature and historical dictionaries. In modern English, stole and stolen would normally be used instead.
Easily confused with voled
Voled is an obsolete form meaning "robbed" or "stolen," whereas voiced describes a sound produced with vibrating vocal folds or a decision reached by voting.