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kidnap

 [kid-nap]   Origin

kid·nap

   [kid-nap]
verb (used with object), -napped or -naped, -nap·ping or -nap·ing.
to steal, carry off, or abduct by force or fraud, especially for use as a hostage or to extract ransom.
Origin:
1675–85; kid1 + nap, variant of nab

Related forms
kid·nap·pee, kid·nap·ee, noun
kid·nap·per, kid·nap·er, noun
un·kid·naped, adjective
un·kid·napped, adjective

Can be confused: hijack, kidnap, shanghai, skyjack.

Synonyms
seize, bear off, bear away.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Kidnap is one of our favorite verbs.
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to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
kidnap (ˈkɪdnæp)
 
—vb , (US) -naps, -napping, -napped, -naps, -naping, -naped
(tr) to carry off and hold (a person), usually for ransom
 
[C17: kid1 + obsolete nap to steal; see nab]
 
'kidnapper
 
—n
 
'kidnaper
 
—n
 
'kidnapping
 
—n
 
'kidnaping
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

kidnap
1673, compound of kid (n.) "child" and nap "snatch away," variant of nab; originally "stealing children to provide servants and laborers in the American colonies."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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