violation
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˌvaɪ.əˈleɪ.ʃən/[1]
Etymology
It is Middle English violacion, borrowed from Old French violacion and directly borrowed from Latin violatio (“an injury, irreverence, profanation”),[2][3][4] from the past participle stem of violāre (“to treat with violence, outrage”) (see violate), from vis, force.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Defilement, desecration, profanation: about 1400 in Etymonline;[2] infringement or breach of a law or agreement, 1432–50 in the OED.[5]
Semantic evolution
Infraction of treaties or commands is attested by the early 15th century.[2] Rough or violent handling is an obsolete sense of about 1485.[5] Rape is from the late 15th century; the oldest attested use is vyolacion of maydenhod, in A Little Treatise on the Seven Deadly Sins.[2][5] In modern American use it is especially a minor infringement of the law, as a traffic violation.[5]
Timeline
- c. 1400 – desecration.[2]
- 1432 – a breach of a law.[5]
- late 15th century – rape.[2]
- 1961 – a minor offence (US).[5]
Modern meaning
Noun
- The act of breaking or disregarding a law, rule or agreement.
- The act of treating something sacred with disrespect; desecration.
- (formal) Rape or sexual assault.
Word family
- violational
- nonviolation
- moving violation
Related words
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ 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 Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press