English

Verb

abduct ‎(third-person singular simple present abducts, present participle abducting, simple past and past participle abducted)

1. (transitive) To take away by force; to carry away (a human being) wrongfully and usually with violence or deception; to kidnap. [Early 17^th century.]^[3]
   • 1904, Jules Verne, chapter 16, in The Master of the World:

     That same night he had by force abducted the president and the secretary of the club, and had taken them, much against their will upon a voyage in the wonderful air-ship, the “Albatross,” which he had constructed.

2. (transitive, physiology) To draw away, as a limb or other part, from its ordinary position; to move similar parts apart. [Early 17^th century.]^[3]

Synonyms

• kidnap
• seize
• stretch

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

References

1. ↑ Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 [1998], ISBN 0550142304), page 2
2. ↑ Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], ISBN 0-87779-101-5), page 3
3. 1 2 Thomas, Clayton L., editor (1940) Taber's Encyclopedic Medical Dictionary, 5th edition, Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis Company, ISBN 0-8036-8313-8, published 1993, pages 1