Link Centre Dictionary

rape

US/ˈɹeɪ̯p/ common slang
verb (2) noun (3)

verb

1.

force (someone) to have sex against their will

  • “The woman was raped on her way home at night”
Synonyms
2.

destroy and strip of its possession

  • “The soldiers raped the beautiful country”
Synonyms

noun

1.
2.

the act of despoiling a country in warfare

Synonyms
3.

the crime of forcing a woman to submit to sexual intercourse against her will

Synonyms

Origin

Generally considered to derive from Old English rāp (“rope”), in reference to the ropes used to delineate the courts that ruled each rape. Compare Dutch reep and the parish of Rope, Cheshire. In the 18th century, Edward Lye proposed derivation from Old Norse hreppr (“tract of land”), but this was rejected by the New English Dictionary and is considered "phonologically impossible" by the English Place-Name Society. Others, considering it improbable that the Normans would have adopted a local word, suggest derivation from Old French raper (“take by force”). See Wikipedia for more.

Phrases

  • acquaintance rape
  • ass rape
  • attempted rape
  • base rape
  • corrective rape
  • date rape
  • divorce rape
  • ear rape
  • firewood rape
  • I've been raped
  • like a raped ape

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.