'embezzle' originates from Middle English, specifically the word 'embesillen', where the prefix 'em-' (from Old French en-/em-) conveyed 'in' or 'into' and the root related to seizing or taking.

'embezzle' changed from the Middle English word 'embesillen' (influenced by Old French forms such as 'embesiller') and eventually became the modern English word 'embezzle'.

Initially, related senses involved taking or seizing; over time it narrowed to the modern sense of fraudulently appropriating funds entrusted to one's care.