English
abuse
Abuse comes from Middle English abusen, ultimately from Latin abūtor ‘to misuse’ (ab ‘away’ + ūtor ‘to use’).
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEabūtor1‘to misuse, use up’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abusen1
- Englishearliest quotation 1601abuse1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English abuse
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet: “Or is it some abuse, and no such thing?”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEabūtorWiktionary, English abuse‘to misuse, use up’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abusenWiktionary, English abuse
- Englishearliest quotation 1601abuseWiktionary, English abuse. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet: “Or is it some abuse, and no such thing?”
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Another origin of abuse
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEabūtor‘to use up, misuse, consume’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEabūsus‘misused, using up’perfect active participle of abūtor
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600abuser
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abusen‘to mislead’
- Englishtodayabuse
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Today it means
noun Improper treatment or usage; application to a wrong or bad purpose; an unjust, corrupt or wrongful practice or custom.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “abuse”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin abūtor / abuse