Usurpation

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌjuː.sə(ɹ)ˈpeɪ.ʃən/

Definitions

1. The act of wrongfully taking control or power that rightfully belongs to someone else is referred to as a transgression against lawful authority
2. The act of forcibly or unlawfully taking control of power or a position that belongs to another
3. An instance where authority or rights are arrogantly assumed without legal justification

Etymology: The Latin verb "usurpare" originally meant simply "to use" or "to make use of", and the Romans also used it for the act of taking possession of something. The word's sense of seizing what is not yours emerged from that idea of taking hold, and the noun "ūsurpātiō" carried the same meaning of seizing or appropriating. It passed into Middle English as "usurpacioun" by way of Old French "usurpacion", and in English it kept the sense of forcibly or improperly taking a position, title or right that belongs to someone else. The word is built from the verb "usurp", with the suffix "-ation", which turns an action into a noun naming the act itself. Its near-namesake "usury", meaning lending money at interest, is a different word, though the two share a Latin ancestry in the idea of "use" and "using".

Synonyms: seizure, takeover, encroachment