kidnap English · revision 175

5 Oct 2026, 22:11 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
← Previous edit
Changes in this edit

@@ -1,6 +1,30 @@
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈkɪdnæp/^(Wiktionary)
+ 
  ==Etymology==
− First recorded in the 1680s as thieves' cant,^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) a compound of [[kid]] “child” + ''nap'' “to snatch”, probably a variant of [[nab]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) perhaps as a back-formation from [[kidnapper]].^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ A compound of [[kid]] “child” + ''nap'' “to snatch”, probably a variant of [[nab]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) perhaps as a back-formation from [[kidnapper]].^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Napper'' was obsolete slang for a thief.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
  
− It originally meant to steal children to provide servants and labourers for the American colonies.^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ To steal or carry off children or others to provide servants or labourers for the American plantations (1682).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The noun ''kidnapper'' is recorded earlier (1678) than the verb (1682), so the verb is possibly a back-formation.^(AHD) Both parts of the word were low slang of the sort criminals might use.^(AHD) The word later took on its broader modern sense of abducting someone by force or fraud, often for ransom.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1678 – ''kidnapper''.^(AHD)
+ * 1682 – ''kidnap''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1961 – noun ''kidnap'', “the act of kidnapping”.^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Verb===
+ # To seize and carry off or hold a person unlawfully, often for ransom.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ===Noun===
+ # The crime of kidnapping, or an instance of it.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[kidnappee]]
+ * [[kidnapper]]
+ * [[dognap]]
  
  ==References==