Peculation
A Dictionary of Law · William C. Anderson · 1889
A Dictionary of Law
Appropriation of public money or goods; embezzlement of public funds. One of the purposes of the New York act of 1875, c. 19, as the word "peculation" in its title indicates, and perhaps its primary purpose, is to afford additional security against the betrayal of official trusts by imposing severer punishment for embezzlements, or other frauds by public officers in misapplying public property, than was provided by existing laws.