Etymology

addicted (adj.)

1530s, "delivered over" by judicial sentence (as a debtor to his creditors, a sense from Roman law); past-participle adjective from addict (v.). The sense of "dependent" (1560s) is reflexive, "self-addicted," from the notion of "give over or award (oneself) to someone or some practice;" specialization to narcotics dependency is from c. 1910. An earlier English adjective was simply addict "delivered, devoted" (1520s).

Entries linking to addicted

addict (v.)

1530s (implied in addicted) "to devote or give up (oneself) to a habit or occupation," from Latin addictus, past participle of addicere "to deliver, award, yield; make over, sell," properly "give one's assent to," but figuratively "to devote, consecrate; sacrifice, sell out, betray, abandon." This is from ad "to" (see ad-) + dicere, which was usually "to say, declare" (from PIE root *deik- "to show," also "pronounce solemnly"), but also could be "adjudge, allot."

"It is a yielding to impulse, and generally a bad one" [Century Dictionary]. Old English glossed Latin addictus literally with forscrifen. Related: Addicted; addicting.

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Dictionary entries near addicted

add

added

addendum

adder

addict

addicted

addiction

addictive

additament

addition

additional

updated on September 14, 2022

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