annexation

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin annexātiō (“the action of annexing”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} recorded in British Latin sources from the 13th century for the adding of territory,^[2] a noun of action from annexō (“to bind to, attach”),^[3][2][4] a frequentative of Latin annectō (“to bind to, tie on”),^[7][3] formed from ad- (“to”) and nectō (“to tie, bind”),^[3][8] from Proto-Indo-European *ned- (“to bind, tie”).^[3][8] The OED compares Middle French annexation, recorded from before 1506.^[2] Barnhart and Merriam-Webster instead take the English word as formed from the verb annex with the suffix -ation,^[7][9] as did Johnson.^[10] Etymonline notes that the Middle English noun was annexion, from the mid 15th century.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of attaching something as an additional possession or privilege, especially of adding land or a nation to an existing territory: 1455, in the records of the Parliament of Scotland; the word was at first Scottish.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The OED's revised entry (2022) takes the word back to 1455;^[2] the older dictionaries, which first found it in Cotgrave's dictionary of 1611 in the sense "a thing added",^[2][7][3] date it to the early 17th century.^[3][9][6] Etymonline records "union" from the 1620s and the action of adding from the 1630s;^[3] the OED has "a union" only once, in Bacon, before 1626.^[2] From 1631 it was also used of attaching something non-material, such as a condition or a consequence, a use now rare;^[2] from 1765 it was used of the physical joining of one thing to another or the appending of a document.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "conjunction; addition" and "union; coalition", with a quotation on the annexation of church benefices.^[10] Its main modern use is for the taking over of a territory by a state.^[11][9][2]

Timeline

• 1455 – the addition of land or a possession, first in Scottish records.^[2]
• 1611 – a thing annexed, in Cotgrave's dictionary.^[2][7]
• 1620s – union (now obsolete).^[3]
• 1631 – the attaching of a condition or consequence (now rare).^[2]
• 1755 – Johnson: conjunction, addition; union.^[10]
• 1765 – the physical joining of one thing to another.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of annexing something, especially the taking over of a territory by a state: The annexation of the island was condemned abroad.^[11][9][2]
2. Something annexed, such as a territory or an addition.^[11][9][2]
3. The joining of one thing to another; the appending of a document.^[2]
4. (law) The attachment of property to a freehold so that it becomes a fixture.^[9]
5. (obsolete) A union or coalition.^[2][10]

Word family

• annexational
• annexationism
• reannexation

Related words

• annex
• annexion
• connect
• nexus

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b c d Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins