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Origin and history of usurp

usurp(v.)

early 14c., usurpen, "assert falsely one's right" (to an office, privilege, etc.; specifically of kingdoms by c. 1400); from Old French usurper "to (wrongfully) appropriate" (14c.), from Latin usurpare "make use of, seize for use," in later Latin "to assume unlawfully, trespass on." This is from usus "a use" (see use (v.)) + rapere "to seize" (see rapid (adj.)).

The sense of "take illegally or wrongfully, steal and hold possession of" is from c. 1400. Related: Usurped; usurping.

also from early 14c.

Entries linking to usurp

rapid(adj.)

1630s, "moving or doing quickly, capable of great speed," from French rapide (17c.) and directly from Latin rapidus "hasty, swift; snatching; fierce, impetuous," from rapere "hurry away, carry off, seize, plunder," from PIE root *rep- "to snatch" (source also of Greek ereptomai "devour," harpazein "snatch away," Lithuanian raplės "tongs").

Meaning "happening in a short time, coming quickly into existence" is from 1780. Related: Rapidly; rapidness. Rapid-fire (adj.) 1890 in reference to guns, figurative or transferred use by 1900; the noun phrase is by 1836. Rapid-transit first attested 1852, in reference to street railways; rapid eye movement, associated with a certain phase of sleep, is from 1906.

use(v.)

c. 1200, usen, "employ for a purpose," from Old French user "employ, make use of, practice, frequent," from Vulgar Latin *usare "use," from stem of Latin uti "make use of, profit by, take advantage of, enjoy, apply, consume" (in Old Latin oeti "use, employ, exercise, perform"), a word of uncertain origin. Related: Used; using. It took senses of Old English brucan (see brook (v.)).

For intransitive senses (used to), see used. From c. 1300 as "speak or write a language;" by mid-14c. as "consume" (food, medicine). From late 14c. as "take advantage of" a situation, "seize" an opportunity; "enjoy, have a right to." To use up "consume entirely" is by 1785.

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assume
early 15c., "to arrogate, take upon oneself," from Latin assumere, adsumere "to take up, take to oneself, take besides, obtain in addition," from ad "to, toward, up to" (see ad-) + sumere "to take," from sub "under" (see sub-) + emere "to take" (from PIE root *em- "to take, distr
seize
mid-13c., seisen, "take possession, take possession of" (land, goods, etc.) by force or authority, from Old French seisir "to take possession of, take by force; put in possession of, bestow upon" (Modern French saisir), from Late Latin sacire (8c.), which generally is held to be
arrogate
"claim or demand presumptuously," 1530s, from Latin arrogatus, past participle of arrogare "to claim for oneself," from assimilated form of ad "to" (see ad-) + rogare "to ask, to propose (a law, a candidate); to ask a favor, entreat, request," apparently a figurative use of a PIE
supplant
, "to trip up, overthrow, defeat, dispossess," from Old French suplanter, sosplanter "to trip up, overthrow, drive out, usurp...
hijack
by 1922 (perhaps c. 1918), American English, of unknown origin; perhaps from high(way) + jacker "one who holds up" (agent noun from jack (v.)). In early use "to rob (a bootlegger, smuggler, etc.) in transit;" sense of "seize an aircraft in flight" is 1968 (also in 1961 variant sk
annex
late 14c., "connect with," from Old French annexer "to join, attach" (13c.), from Medieval Latin annexare, frequentative of Latin annecetere "to bind to," from ad "to" (see ad-) + nectere "to tie, bind" (from PIE root *ned- "to bind, tie"). Usually meaning "to join in a subordina
overtake
"to come up to, catch up with, catch in pursuit," early 13c., from over- + take (v.). According to OED (1989), originally "the running down and catching of a fugitive or beast of chase"; the editors find the sense of over- in this word "not so clear." The meaning "take by surpris
supersede
mid-15c., "postpone, defer" (senses now obsolete), from Latin supersedere, etymologically "sit on top of;" also, with ablative, "stay clear of, abstain from, forbear, refrain from," from super "above" (see super-) + sedere "to sit" (from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit"). The modern s
take
Middle English taken, from late Old English tacan "to grip, seize by force, lay hold of," from a Scandinavian source (such as Old Norse taka "take, grasp, lay hold," past tense tok, past participle tekinn; also compare Swedish ta, past participle tagit). This is reconstructed to
raid
early 15c., "mounted military expedition," Scottish and northern English form of rade "a riding, journey," from Old English rad "a riding, ride, expedition, journey; raid," (see road). The word fell into obscurity by 17c., but it was revived by Scott ("The Lay of the Last Minstre

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