addict

·1530s·Established

Origin

Addict comes from Latin addictus, "spoken over to" — a Roman debtor handed by a judge to a creditor.‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‌ Entered English in the 1530s.

Definition

Addict: a person dependent on a substance or compulsive behaviour; (verb) to surrender oneself to so‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‌mething.

Did you know?

An addict was once a Roman debtor "spoken over" to a creditor by a judge — formally surrendered as property until the debt was paid.

Etymology

LatinEarly Modernwell-attested

From Latin addictus, past participle of addicere (to deliver over, assign), from ad- (to) + dicere (to say, declare). In Roman law an addictus was a debtor formally awarded by a judge to a creditor — a chilling original sense the modern word retains in metaphor. Key roots: ad- (Latin: "to"), dicere (Latin: "to say, declare").

Ancient Roots

ad- (Latin: “to”)dicere (Latin: “to say, declare”)

This Word in Other Languages

addicto(Italian (rare))adicto(Spanish)addict(French (modern loan))

Addict traces back to Latin ad-, meaning "to", with related forms in Latin dicere ("to say, declare"). Across languages it shares form or sense with Italian (rare) addicto, Spanish adicto and French (modern loan) addict, evidence of a shared etymological family.

Background

The Etymology of Addict

Addict has a sharper original meaning than its modern softness suggests.‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‌ In Roman law an addictus was a debtor formally adjudicated to a creditor: the judge had spoken (Latin dicere) the debtor over to (ad-) the creditor’s authority, and until the debt was discharged the addictus was effectively his to command — a kind of legal bond-servitude. The Latin verb addicere meant to declare over, deliver, assign. English borrowed it as a verb in the 1530s, in the literal sense of surrendering oneself or being delivered over to something — an art, a cause, a prince. The reflexive use ("to addict oneself to study") was at first morally neutral. The shift toward compulsive substance-use is surprisingly recent: the noun addict in the modern drug sense is recorded only from 1909, around the time international opium control was beginning. The Roman shadow remains: an addict is still, etymologically, someone bound over.

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