Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To seize and detain unlawfully and usually for ransom.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To steal, abduct, or carry off forcibly (a human being, whether man, woman, or child). In law it sometimes implies a carrying beyond the jurisdiction.
Wiktionary
- v. transitive To seize and detain a person unlawfully; sometimes for ransom.
- n. An instance of kidnapping.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To take (any one) by force or fear, and against one's will, with intent to carry to another place.
WordNet 3.0
- v. take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom
Etymologies
- From kid ("child") + nap ("nab, grab") (Wiktionary)
- Probably kid + nap, to snatch (perhaps variant of nab and or of Scandinavian origin). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“I think the word kidnap even surprised him: he thought wee Siobhan was still missing.”
“As the programme says, the issue – having such a high-profile person in a war zone where kidnap is common – must have been assessed and debated.”
“In Prince Harry's case, protocol says that the first people called aren't MI5 or MI6 but the Met Police because kidnap is a crime, not a military matter.”
The Guardian: Grace Dent's TV OD: The Taking Of Prince Harry
“Global News Blog » North America - Notable drop in kidnap menace says:”
“His name also surfaced in Nicaragua, on a list compiled by terrorists of potential Latin American kidnap targets.”
“With the police often slow to react and wealthy parents eager to pay, a kidnap should be a quick and simple money-spinner.”
The Guardian: Heartache for India's new rich as brutal kidnappers target their children
“Insurgents shot at the car of Bahrain's charge d'affaires in what is being described as a kidnap attempt.”
“You and Chris are not exactly big name kidnap bait, and Morrison and Sol wouldn't lift a finger to save you.”
“She knew the kidnap was a fake because she was supposed to run off with the kid and the money.”
“AQIM in particular has perfected what analysts call a "kidnap economy," drawing on its refuge in Mali, according to diplomats, hostage negotiators and government officials.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘kidnap’.
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WF - list of EN back-formations
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_back-formations
aborigine, accrete, acculturate, admix, admixture, adolesce, adsorb, adulate, advect, aesthete, air-condition, anticline and 212 more...
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Thief Words
Words that deal with stealing and thievery!
steal, plunder, theif, robber, rob, take, kidnap, stole, take ownership, snatch, grab, hide and 19 more...
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Baby Got Back-Formations
"A new word created by removing an affix from an already existing word, as vacuum clean from vacuum cleaner, or by removing what is mistakenly thought to be an affix, as pea from the earlier Englis...
resurrect, enthuse, couth, donate, emote, greed, isolate, manipulate, orate, prequel, spectate, upholster and 94 more...
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slumry's Words
cattywampus, ingratiate, lackadaisical, exactitude, exfoliate, fulminate, circumnavigation, circuitous, debride, sidle, sequester, chicory and 1002 more...
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Action Movie in 50 Words
sequel, decorated, reunification, victory, dismember, electrocute, shark, decapitate, cavalry, peripetia, throttle, blood and 38 more...
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backformations
Inspired by the hilarious discussion of the word bant at around the five-minute mark of this video.
bant, maffick, surveil, ablute, pea, burgle, couth, liaise, reminisce, fluoresce, emote, enthuse and 31 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for kidnap.
reesetee Ah, another expert in madeupical etymology. :-) Apr 8, 2008
asativum Recent evidence suggests it actually traces back to medieval English, and a common hunting prank among the noble set.
Tethered young goats were used as bait to attract bears, wolves and other predators. The hunter or gamekeeper would often nap within earshot of the kid while waiting for the beast to show up, at which point the kid would make a ruckus, waking the napper and bringing the bear (or whatnot) to its speedy demise. Of course, it was the work of a moment for a neighboring squire to instead make off with the kid -- thus, kidnap. Also the origin of the phrase, to get your goat.
Apr 8, 2008
reesetee According to the OED, it's believed to be a backformation of kidnapper: "f. KID + NAP v., to snatch, seize (cf. NAB)." Apparently it evolved into a verb form from the noun. Apr 7, 2008
bilby How do you figure this as a backformation, reesetee? Apr 6, 2008