u·surp
Audio Help [yoo-surp, -zurp] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [yoo-surp, -zurp] Pronunciation Key –verb (used with object)
–verb (used without 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. |
| 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 (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
usurp
To learn more about usurp visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| u·surp
Audio Help (yōō-sûrp', -zûrp') Pronunciation Key
v. u·surped, u·surp·ing, u·surps v. tr.
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 © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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 |
| usurp | |
verb | |
| 1. | seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession; "He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"; "he usurped my rights"; "She seized control of the throne after her husband died" [syn: assume] |
| 2. | take the place of; "gloom had usurped mirth at the party after the news of the terrorist act broke" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
usurp [juˈzəːp] verb
to take (another person's power, position etc) without the right to do so
Example: The king's uncle tried to usurp the throne; I shall not allow him to usurp my authority.
Example: The king's uncle tried to usurp the throne; I shall not allow him to usurp my authority.
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
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.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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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