First of all, thank you to everybody who replied, both on and off-list. On 07/01/2020 12:38, ao402468@gmail.com wrote: [..]

To abstract the object.

I had independently come up with that word - but ao402468 published first. Darn, but not liver-gnawing time :) Words people have come up with: steal pirate leak plagiarise breach mirror clone replicate image intercept disseminate breach transgress microfilm xerox exfiltrate decrypt expose disclose compromise extract copy pinch crib abstract "Copy" is good, and obvious, but doesn't have the emotional connotations of stealing: scenario, you are a secure database operator/designer and someone has - "whatevered" - your data. You are right royally pi**ed off and want to nail the f#*#*#*s to a wall and stick knitting needles in their bellies and watch them die slowly and insane from peritonitis. If you can keep yourself from killing the s#!*-gobbing _F$*#S_ sooner. "Copy" seems a little weak for what they did. "Crib" and "pinch" are also good, but both have or had a specific crypto meaning, "crib" being a known or guessed plaintext, and "pinch" meaning crypto things stolen by non-cryptanalytic means. Both are a little weak. Both are also a bit skoolboyish. I think "abstract" is probably the best word available, but am a little worried that most people will not be aware of the secondary meaning of abstract. It doesn't necessarily involve dishonesty, but it is sometimes used that way - eg abstraction of electricity, an offense under UK law; you can't steal electricity as it is not a thing, so the offense is "abstraction" not "theft". Any further thoughts? This usage will eventually go in a book, which probably no-one will ever read, but if they do you may end up using whatever the final choice is... Again, thank you all for your help. ;-) Peter Fairbrother