extradition

Forms

extradition f (plural extraditions)^[1]

Etymology

It was coined from Latin ex- (“out of”) + trāditiō (“a handing over”) in French,^[2][1][3][4] the noun of action from trādō (“to hand over, deliver”).^[2][4][5] Rey adds that the verb is itself a compound of dō (“to give”).^[4] Picoche places it in the family of donner.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1763 in Voltaire's history of Russia under Peter the Great.^[2][4][3] Etymonline calls it apparently Voltaire's coinage.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The word belongs to international law: the procedure by which a State obtains a person prosecuted or convicted who is on the territory of another State.^[4][2] Littré also gives a wider sense, “handing over”, and the TLFi notes that a quotation of Voltaire uses it of a thing rather than a person.^[5][2] It produced the verb extrader (1777), which is less common than the noun, though its past participle is usual in law.^[4][3] English took the word from French in 1811, in translations of a French decree.^[7]

Timeline

• 1763 – Voltaire uses extradition.^[2][4][3]
• 1777 – The verb extrader is derived.^[4][3]
• 1811 – English extradition is first recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (law) Extradition: the procedure by which one State hands over to another, at its request, a person prosecuted or convicted by its courts.^[8][9][10]
2. (dated) A handing over.^[5]

Word family

• extrader

Related words

• tradition
• trahison
• Latin trāditiō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale