/mabiki/ → /maɴbiki/ Shift from 間引(まび)き (mabiki, “thinning out”), the 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 間引(まび)く (mabiku, “to thin out (seedlings); to pull out (items) from the middle”). The original term first referred to the process of culling seedlings. Over time, this was used more euphemistically to refer to a shoplifter "thinning out" a store's merchandise.…