kidnap

kid·nap

 (kĭd′năp′)

tr.v. kid·napped, kid·nap·ping, kid·naps or kid·naped or kid·nap·ing

To abduct or confine (a person) forcibly, by threat of force, or by deceit, without the authority of law.

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[kid, child + nap, to snatch (perhaps variant of nab or of Scandinavian origin ).]

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kid′nap·pee′, kid′nap·ee′ (kĭd′nă-pē′) n.

kid′nap′ n.

kid′nap′per, kid′nap′er n.

Word History: Kidnapper seems to have originated among those who perpetrate this crime. We know this because kid and napper, the two parts of the compound, were slang of the sort that criminals used. Kid, which still has an informal air, was considered low slang when kidnapper was formed, and napper is obsolete slang for a thief, coming from the verb nap, "to steal." Nap is possibly a variant of nab, which also still has a slangy ring. In the second half of the 1600s, when the word kidnapper begins to appear in English, kidnappers plied their trade to secure laborers for plantations in colonies such as the ones in North America. The term later took on the broader sense that it has today. The verb kidnap begins to be attested a bit later than kidnapper and is possibly a back-formation from kidnapper—that is, the suffix -er was removed from kidnapper to create a new verb kidnap.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

kidnap

(ˈkɪdnæp)

vb, -naps, -napping or -napped, -naps, -naping or -naped

(tr) to carry off and hold (a person), usually for ransom

[C17: kid¹ + obsolete nap to steal; see nab]

ˈkidnapper, ˈkidnaper n

ˈkidnapping, ˈkidnaping n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

kid•nap

(ˈkɪd næp)

v.t. -napped -naped, -nap•ping -nap•ing.

to carry off (a person) by force or fraud, esp. for use as a hostage or to extract ransom; abduct.

[1675–85; kid¹ + nap, variant of nab]

kid`nap•pee′, kid`nap•ee′, n.

kid′nap•per, kid′nap•er, n.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

kidnap

Past participle: kidnapped
Gerund: kidnapping

Imperative

kidnap

kidnap

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Verb

1.

kidnap - take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom; "The industrialist's son was kidnapped" abduct, nobble, snatch crime, criminal offence, criminal offense, law-breaking, offense, offence - (criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act; "a long record of crimes" seize - take or capture by force; "The terrorists seized the politicians"; "The rebels threaten to seize civilian hostages" shanghai, impress - take (someone) against his will for compulsory service, especially on board a ship; "The men were shanghaied after being drugged"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

kidnap

verb abduct, remove, steal, capture, seize, snatch (slang), hijack, run off with, run away with, make off with, hold to ransom Police in Brazil uncovered a plot to kidnap him.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

kidnap

verb

To seize and detain (a person) unlawfully:

abduct, snatch, spirit away.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

يَخْتَطِفُيَخْطُف، يَخْتَطِف

unéstúnos

kidnappe

entführenEntführungkidnappen

απάγω

raptarsecuestrarsecuestro

kaapatakidnapatakidnappaussiepata

kidnapperravirenlever

חטיפהחטף

oteti

elrabol

ræna

sequestrarerapiresequestrorapimento

誘拐する誘拐

유괴하다

pagrobėjas

ar varu aizvestnolaupīt

ontvoerenkidnappen

kidnappe

porwać

raptarsequestrarsequestro

похищать людей

ugrabiti

kidnappa

ลักพาตัว

kaçırmak

bắt cóc

绑架

kidnap

[ˈkɪdnæp] VT → secuestrar, raptar, plagiar (Mex)

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

kidnap

[ˈkɪdnæp]

vt → enlever, kidnapper

n (= kidnapping) → enlèvement m

modif [victim] → d'enlèvement; [group, gang] → de ravisseurs
kidnap attempt → tentative d'enlèvement

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

kidnap

vt → entführen, kidnappen

n → Entführung f, → Kidnapping nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

kidnap

[ˈkɪdnæp] vt → rapire, sequestrare

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

kidnap

(ˈkidnӕp) – past tense, past participle ˈkidnapped , (American) ˈkidnaped – verb

to carry off (a person) by force, often demanding money in exchange for his safe return. He is very wealthy and lives in fear of his children being kidnapped. ontvoer يَخْطُف، يَخْتَطِف отвличам raptar unést entführen kidnappe απάγωsecuestrar, raptar inimest röövima آدم ربایی کردن kidnapata kidnapper לַחטוֹף अपहरण करना oteti elrabol menculik ræna rapire, sequestrare 誘かいする 유괴하다 pagrobti nolaupīt (bērnu); ar varu aizvest (kādu) diculik ontvoerenkidnappe, bortføreporwać اختطاف،انسان تښتونه raptar a kid­napa, a răpi похищать uniesť ugrabiti kidnapovati kidnappa ลักพาตัวเพื่อเรียกค่าไถ่ kaçırmak 綁架 викрадати اغوا کرنا bắt cóc 绑架

ˈkidnapper noun

ontvoerder مُخْتَطِف похитител raptor únosce der Entführer kidnapper; bortfører απαγωγέαςsecuestrador inimröövija آدم ربا kidnappaaja ravisseur/-euse חוטף अपहर्ता otimač emberrabló penculik mannræningi rapitore, rapitrice, sequestratore, sequestratrice 誘かい者 유괴범 pagrobėjas (bērnu) nolaupītājs penculik ontvoerderkidnapperporywacz انسان تښتونكې raptor răpitor похититель únosca ugrabitelj kidnaper kidnappare คนลักพาตัว adam kaçıran 綁架者 викрадач дітей, людей اغوا کرنے والا شخص kẻ bắt cóc 绑架者

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

kidnap

→ يَخْتَطِفُ unést kidnappe entführen απάγω raptar siepata enlever oteti sequestrare 誘拐する 유괴하다 ontvoeren kidnappe porwać raptar похищать людей kidnappa ลักพาตัว kaçırmak bắt cóc 绑架

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009