violate English · revision 39831

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1425|origins=la violō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈvaɪəˌleɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|violaten]], [[bor|la|violātus]], the past participle of [[m|la|violō|t=to treat with violence, outrage, dishonour]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966)^(AHD 2024) with the verb suffix [[-ate]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The Latin verb is usually derived, through an unrecorded adjective, from [[m|la|vīs|t=strength, force]],^(OED 2026)^(Skeat 1911)^(Hoad 1986)^(Ayto 2005) the source of [[vim]];^(Ayto 2005)^(Barnhart 1988) Dictionary.com takes it from [[m|la|violentus|t=violent]], and the OED notes a more recent proposal connecting it with the root of [[m|la|invītus|t=unwilling]].^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(OED 2026) [[m|fr|violer]] and its Romance relatives, recorded in Old French from about 1100, come from the same Latin verb.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To break or transgress an oath, a promise or a law: probably before 1425, in a translation of Higden's ''Polychronicon'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026) early 15th century in Etymonline, which also gives "to defile" and "to desecrate".^(Etymonline) The past participle used as an adjective, "violated", is recorded from about 1425, in Lydgate.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense "to rape" is also recorded from the 15th century, about 1450.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) The use for profaning a holy place dates from 1490, in Caxton,^(OED 2026) and for failing to live up to a moral standard from about 1518.^(OED 2026) The sense "to break in upon, disturb", as with peace or privacy, is recorded from about 1518 in the OED;^(OED 2026) Barnhart's first example is from 1667, in Milton's ''Paradise Lost''.^(Barnhart 1988) Johnson (1755) gave first the sense "to injure, to hurt", then "to infringe", "to injure by irreverence" and "to ravish".^(Johnson 1755) The sense "to treat a person with contempt or disrespect" dates from 1692.^(OED 2026) In 20th-century American slang the verb came to mean sending a parolee back to prison for breaking the terms of parole.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1425 – ''violate'', as a past participle.^(OED 2026)

+ * before 1425 – to break an oath or law.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1450 – to rape.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1490 – to profane a sacred place.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1518 – to disturb, intrude on.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1692 – to treat with disrespect.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1969 – (US slang) to return a parolee to prison.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[break]] or fail to respect a [[law]], [[rule]], agreement or [[promise]]: ''The company was fined for violating safety regulations.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To treat something [[sacred]] with disrespect; to [[desecrate]] or profane.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To [[disturb]] or [[intrude]] on something, such as someone's peace or privacy.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # To [[rape]] or sexually assault.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (US slang) To return a person on [[parole]] to prison for breaking its conditions.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # (archaic) Violated.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[violative]]

+ * [[violator]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[violable]]

+ * [[violation]]

+ * [[inviolate]]

+ * [[violent]]

+ * [[violence]]

+ * [[vim]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}