Etymologically
Log in

abuse

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 20:42. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: noun: /əˈbjuːs/; verb: /əˈbjuːz/[1]

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English abusen,[2][3] borrowed from Middle French abuser (“to deceive, abuse, misuse”),[4][2] from Vulgar Latin *abūsāre,[4][2] from Latin abūsus (“a using up”), the past participle of abūtī (“to use up, consume; to misuse”),[4][2] from ab- “away” and ūtī “to use”.[4][2] The noun is from Middle French abus and Latin abūsus.[4][2][5] It is related to use, usual and abusive.[4][2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb, “to misuse, misapply” power or money: early 15th century in Etymonline,[4] 1413 in the OED.[7] The noun, “an improper practice”, is from the mid-15th century,[4] 1439 in the Rolls of Parliament according to Barnhart.[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 15th century the verb also meant “to deceive” (1481), a sense now obsolete.[7] It was used of forbidden sexual acts from the early 15th century, and “to violate, ravish” from the 1550s,[4] a sense the OED marked obsolete; the modern use of unwanted sexual activity is likely a fresh coinage of the late 20th century.[4] “To ill-use, maltreat” is from 1556,[7] and “to attack with harsh language” from about 1600,[4] though the noun “abusive language” is earlier (1559).[7] Of drugs, the noun is by 1961 and the verb from 1968.[4] Earlier Middle English had abusion, “a wicked act” and “an insult”.[4] Abusive is from 1583.[2]

Timeline

  • 1413 – verb, to misuse.[7]
  • 1439 – noun, an improper practice.[2]
  • 1481 – to deceive.[7]
  • 1556 – to maltreat.[7]
  • 1559 – abusive language.[7]
  • c. 1600 – verb, to revile.[4]
  • 1961 – drug abuse.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Improper or excessive use; misuse: drug abuse.
  2. Physical or sexual mistreatment.
  3. A corrupt practice or custom.
  4. Insulting or coarse language.

Verb

  1. To use wrongly or improperly.
  2. To hurt or injure by maltreatment.
  3. To attack with insulting words; to revile.
  4. (obsolete) To deceive.

Word family

  • abuser
  • abusable
  • antiabuse
  • self-abuse
  • overabuse
  • abusage
  • disabuse
  • child abuse
  • abusive
  • use
  • usual
  • misuse
  • utility
  • usury

Usage notes

The American Heritage distinguishes abuse, injurious or unreasonable treatment, from misuse, mistreat, ill-treat and maltreat.[8]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin