the.com/kidnap
To unlawfully seize and hold a person by force or deception, often for ransom.
means To seize and hold a person unlawfully, typically by force or deception, often for ransom or coercion.
from A 17th-century underworld coinage built from 'kid' (child) plus 'nap,' thieves' slang for 'to snatch or steal.' It originally named the specific, grim trade of stealing children and shipping them off to the American colonies as indentured labor — the crime came first, and the general word grew out of that narrow, brutal specialty.
- word origin
- from kid plus nap, 17th century slang for steal
- nap meaning
- nap once meant to snatch, not sleep
- original targets
- children kidnapped to be sold as servants abroad
- legal twist
- consent given under threat still counts as kidnapping