也称为cleptomania，1830年出现，由mania（狂热）和希腊语kleptes（小偷、骗子）组合而成，源自kleptein（偷窃、秘密行动），其词根来自原始印欧语*klep-（偷），是*kel-（1）（覆盖、隐藏、保存）的扩展。这个词与拉丁语clepere（偷窃、秘密倾听）、古普鲁士语au-klipts（隐藏的）、古教会斯拉夫语poklopu（覆盖物、包装）、哥特语hlifan（偷窃）和hliftus（小偷）同源。
在19世纪，这个词常常被嘲笑，认为它只是对古老偷窃行为的花哨称呼，是富人们为自己的犯罪行为寻找心理动机的一种借口。
There is a popular belief that some of the criminal laws under which the poor are rigorously punished are susceptible of remarkable elasticity when the peccadilloes of the rich are brought under judgment, and that there is some truth in the old adage which declares that "one man may steal a horse where another dare not look over the hedge." This unwholesome distrust is not likely to diminish if, in cases of criminal prosecutions where so-called respectable persons commit theft without sufficiently obvious motive for the act, they have their crime extenuated on the plea of kleptomania, as has recently occurred in several notable instances. ["Kleptomania," The Lancet, Nov. 16, 1861]
人们普遍认为，贫穷者因犯罪而受到严厉惩罚的法律，在富人轻微犯罪被审判时却显得异常宽松。这种看法似乎与古老的谚语相符：“一个人可以偷一匹马，而另一个人连看都不敢看。”如果在一些刑事案件中，所谓的体面人士因缺乏明显动机而被认定为有kleptomania（偷窃狂），并因此减轻罪责，这种不健康的怀疑态度只会加剧，正如最近几个显著案例所显示的那样。[《柳叶刀》，1861年11月16日]
