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usurp - 6 dictionary results

u⋅surp

  [yoo-surp, -zurp]
Use usurp in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to seize and hold (a position, office, power, etc.) by force or without legal right: The pretender tried to usurp the throne.
2. to use without authority or right; employ wrongfully: The magazine usurped copyrighted material.
–verb (used without object)
3. to commit forcible or illegal seizure of an office, power, etc.; encroach.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME < L ūsūrpāre to take possession through use, equiv. to ūsū (abl. of ūsus use (n.)) + -rp-, reduced form of -rip-, comb. form of rapere to seize + -āre inf. ending

Related forms:
u⋅surp⋅er, noun
u⋅surp⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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u·surp   (yōō-sûrp', -zûrp')   
v.   u·surped, u·surp·ing, u·surps

v.   tr.
  1. To seize and hold (the power or rights of another, for example) by force or without legal authority. See Synonyms at appropriate.
  2. To take over or occupy without right: usurp a neighbor's land.
  3. To take the place of (another) without legal authority; supplant.
v.   intr.
To seize another's place, authority, or possession wrongfully.

[Middle English usurpen, from Old French usurper, from Latin ūsūrpāre, to take into use, usurp; see reup- in Indo-European roots.]
u·surp'er n., u·surp'ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Usurp

U*surp"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Usurped; p. pr. & vb. n. Usurping.] [L. usurpare, usurpatum, to make use of, enjoy, get possession of, usurp; the first part of usurpare is akin to usus use (see Use, n.): cf. F. usurper.] To seize, and hold in possession, by force, or without right; as, to usurp a throne; to usurp the prerogatives of the crown; to usurp power; to usurp the right of a patron is to oust or dispossess him.

Alack, thou dost usurp authority. --Shak.

Another revolution, to get rid of this illegitimate and usurped government, would of course be perfectly justifiable. --Burke.

Note: Usurp is applied to seizure and use of office, functions, powers, rights, etc.; it is not applied to common dispossession of private property.

Syn: To arrogate; assume; appropriate.

Usurp

U*surp"\, v. i. To commit forcible seizure of place, power, functions, or the like, without right; to commit unjust encroachments; to be, or act as, a usurper.

The parish churches on which the Presbyterians and fanatics had usurped. --Evelyn.

And now the Spirits of the Mind Are busy with poor Peter Bell; Upon the rights of visual sense Usurping, with a prevalence More terrible than magic spell. --Wordsworth.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : usurp
Spanish: usurpar,
German: an sich reißen,
Japanese: 奪う
More Translations »

usurp 
c.1325, from O.Fr. usurper, from L. usurpare "make use of, seize for use," in L.L. "to assume unlawfully," from usus "a use" (see use) + rapere "to seize" (see rapid).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: usurp
Pronunciation: yu-'s&rp, -'z&rp
Function: verb
Etymology: Latin usurpare to take possession of without a strict legal claim, from usus use + rapere to seize
transitive verb : to seize and hold (as office, place, or powers) in possession by force or without right usurp the powers of the legislature> intransitive verb : to seize or exercise authority or possession wrongfully —usur·pa·tion /"yü-s&r-'pA-sh&n, -z&r-/ noun —usurp·er /yu-'s&r-p&r, -'z&r-/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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