Drugging

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈdɹʌɡɪŋ/

Definitions

1. The practice of using a chemical agent to hinder cognitive functions, induce a state of relaxation, or manipulate a person's mental state for various purposes
2. The act of introducing a substance into someone's body to affect their consciousness, alter their perception, or increase suggestibility for a specific outcome
3. The act of giving someone a drug to change their mental or physical condition for a specific effect

Etymology: "Drugging" is simply "drug" with the -ing ending added, so its history is the history of the verb "drug," which began as a noun. Middle English "drogge" meant "medicine," borrowed from Middle French "drogue," a word for a tincture or pharmaceutical preparation. The French term probably came from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German "droge," as in "droge vate," meaning "dry vats" or "dry barrels." The barrels were named for their contents, which were usually dried herbs, plants or other dry wares, so the word for "dry" was applied to the medicines themselves. That "dry" is the same word as the English adjective, which traces back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "dry, hard." English already had its own word for medicine, Old English "lybb," but the borrowed term displaced it. The verb "to drug," meaning to dose someone with a substance, grew out of the noun, and "drugging" is its present participle.

Synonyms: intoxicating, doping, narcotizing, anesthetizing, sedating

Antonyms: sober, awaken, alert, stimulate, energize