Rape

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The crime of compelling another individual to participate in sexual acts without their consent or willingness An act characterized by the exploitation of power dynamics to enforce unwanted sexual interactions against someone's will The severe violation of personal autonomy and consent, typically involving coercion or physical force to achieve sexual ends
2. The act of forcing someone into sexual activity without their agreement
3. An unlawful and violent sexual attack imposed on a person against their will

Etymology: The sense of "rape" as sexual assault is the most recent of several unrelated words that happen to share a spelling. The oldest one, from Middle English "rapen," meant to seize, snatch or carry off, and it came into English from Latin "rapiō" (or possibly Anglo-Norman "rap"). Its sense of abduction and forcible seizure is the one that eventually narrowed to sexual violence. Other English "rape" words are unrelated. One is a plant name, the "rape" of the cabbage family, from Latin "rāpa," meaning turnip. Another is a dregs-of-grapes sense, from Old French "raper," meaning to rasp. A separate "rape" denoting a land division in Sussex is linked to the English word for "rope," though this origin is uncertain.

Synonyms: assault, violation

Antonyms: consent