Etymologically
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hijack

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhaɪ.d͡ʒæk/[1]

Etymology

The origin is unknown.[2][3] It is perhaps a back-formation from hijacker,[4][5][6] itself perhaps from high (as in highway) and jacker “one who holds people up”.[4][5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To rob a bootlegger or smuggler of goods in transit (1923; by 1922 in Etymonline).[7][5][2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word arose in Prohibition-era America for stealing contraband liquor on the road.[7][5][2] It spread to stealing any goods from a vehicle in transit.[4][6] In the 1960s it was applied to seizing an aircraft in flight (1968, also skyjack),[5][2] and in the 1970s to taking over any form of public transport.[5][2] Figuratively, to hijack a process or resource is to take it over for one's own ends.[1]

Timeline

  • c1918–1922 – first use.[2]
  • 1923 – to rob bootleggers in transit.[7][5][3]
  • 1923 – noun, an act of hijacking.[7]
  • 1961 – skyjack.[2]
  • 1968 – to seize an aircraft in flight.[5][2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To seize control of a vehicle, especially an aircraft, by force.
  2. To stop and rob a vehicle in transit, or steal its goods.
  3. To take over something for a purpose other than the one intended.
  4. To swindle or extort from.

Noun

  1. An act or instance of hijacking.

Word family

  • hijacker
  • skyjack
  • carjack
  • highway
  • jack

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press