usurp
[ yoo-surp, -zurp ]
verb (used with object)
to seize and hold (a position, office, power, etc.) by force or without legal right: The pretender tried to usurp the throne.
to use without authority or right; employ wrongfully: The magazine usurped copyrighted material.
verb (used without object)
to commit forcible or illegal seizure of an office, power, etc.; encroach.
Origin of usurp
1First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Latin ūsūrpāre “to take possession through use,” equivalent to ūsū (ablative of ūsus “act of using, employment” (see use) + -rp-, reduced form of -rip-, combining form of rapere “to seize” + -āre infinitive ending
Other words from usurp
- u·surp·er, noun
- u·surp·ing·ly, adverb
- non·u·surp·ing, adjective
- non·u·surp·ing·ly, adverb
- self-u·surp, verb (used without object)
- un·u·surp·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for usurp
usurp
/ (juːˈzɜːp) /
verb
to seize, take over, or appropriate (land, a throne, etc) without authority
Origin of usurp
1C14: from Old French usurper, from Latin ūsūrpāre to take into use, probably from ūsus use + rapere to seize
Derived forms of usurp
- usurpation, noun
- usurpative or usurpatory, adjective
- usurper, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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