addiction
Pronunciation
- IPA: /əˈdɪkˌʃən/[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Latin addictio (“an awarding, a delivering up”),[2][3][4] a noun of action from the past participle stem of addīcere (“to deliver, award; devote”) (see addict).[2][5] In Roman law the word meant the adjudging of disputed property, or the assigning of a debtor to the custody of his creditor.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Inclination, bent, penchant: 1604 in the OED, about 1600 in Etymonline, the late 16th century in NODE.[6][2][4]
Semantic evolution
The milder sense, a person's inclination, is now obsolete.[2] The state of being given to a habit or pursuit, devotion, is from 1641.[6][2] In English Roman-law writing, a formal delivery by sentence of a court is from 1625.[6] Dependence on a drug is attested in isolation from 1779, of tobacco,[2][6] and in regular use by 1906, of opium.[2]
Timeline
- 1604 – inclination.[6]
- 1625 – in Roman law.[6]
- 1641 – devotion to a habit.[6]
- 1779 – of tobacco (isolated).[2]
- 1906 – drug addiction.[2]
Modern meaning
Noun
- The condition of being addicted.
- A compulsive need for a habit-forming substance, such as a narcotic drug.
Word family
- overaddiction
Related words
- addict
- addicted
- diction
- dictate
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press