addictn.
/ˈadɪkt/, U.S. /ˈædɪk(t)/ 1. A person affected by an addiction to a drug or other psychoactive substance. Frequently with distinguishing word denoting the addictive substance.dope, drug, marijuana addict, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > drug addiction or craving > [noun] > drug addict
head1856
narcotist1860
drugger1870
drug fiend1873
druggard1882
narcomaniac1888
dope-fiend1896
addict1899
dopehead1901
hypo1904
drug addict1905
drug abuser1915
junker1922
junkie1923
hype1924
needle artist1925
needleman1925
schmecker1931
dope-addict1933
ad1938
dopester1938
narco1958
pillhead1962
druggie1966
freak1967
drugster1970
1899 Illinois Med. Jrnl. 49 161/2 Indulgers in stimulating food, gluttonous feeders, tea and coffee addicts, are much more prone to beget degenerate and inebriate offspring than are the moderate users of alcohol with generally temperate habits.
1901 J. D. Albright Gen. Practitioner as Specialist (ed. 2) 10 In contra-distinction to the above must be noted the imaginary pains which the majority of addicts will refer to the stomach or other internal organ, as an excuse for taking their accustomed drug.
1924 Westm. Gaz. 19 Dec. 4/2 People who..get into the habit of going to the chemist for drugs to induce sleep, and often end up by becoming opium, morphine, or heroin addicts.
1938 Manch. Guardian Weekly 2 Sept. 188/3 Some [swing players] are ‘mugglers’ (Marijuana addicts).
1987 C. Phillips European Tribe viii. 67 Prostitutes sat in windows like goods on display, and the sallow-faced addicts slunk around the streets.
2006 Guardian 20 Mar. i. 28/5 For those addicts ‘unlucky’ enough not to score, a night of cold turkey..awaits.
2. In extended use. An enthusiastic devotee of a specified thing or activity. Frequently with modifying word.Internet, sex addict, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > [noun] > one who loves > devotee
worshipperc1450
votary1594
prostitute1624
devote1630
devotist1641
devotee1669
devotionary1671
devil1690
devoté1728
votarist1806
nut1915
addict1919
head1960
1919 Amer. Organist Nov. 442/1 General Pershing..is not a ‘jazz’ addict, but a lover of real music.
1928 Los Angeles Times 24 Aug. i. 18/6 Addicts of Swiss music will undoubtedly enjoy the 7 p.m. broadcast of C. H. Ramey, yodeler.
1970 Films in Rev. Nov. 573/2 I'm the kind of sci-fi addict who can stand any amount of improbability, bad acting, uninterested direction and poverty-row budgets.
1990 Verbatim Spring 6/2 Although I seldom work crossword puzzles, this is a must book for the crossword-puzzle addict.
2008 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 29 Jan. d8/2 You know someone's an addict when they are caught by their children in their front hall closet..thumbing away on their CrackBerry.
Compounds
General attributive, with the senses ‘that is an addict’, ‘of addicts’.
ΚΠ
1924 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 3 Aug. 2/3 Much of India's [opium] output goes to Japan, and these shipments to a comparatively non-addict country must mean..that they are exported again.]
1931 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 31 1056/1 The nurse is given an unique opportunity to widen her experience with the addict type of patient.
1965 J. Mills in Life 26 Feb. 82/4 Junkies hang around Needle Park because it is surrounded by cheap hotels, needed by addict prostitutes.
1985 J. Liedloff Continuum Concept v. 129 When one of his addict patients saw another patient in an artificial lung, she became enraged.
1997 Big Issue 2 June 10/3 And now we have..a huge addict population comprising at least a quarter of a million users.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
addictadj.
/əˈdɪkt/, U.S. /əˈdɪk(t)/ rare and archaic in later use.† 1. That is or has been attached by compulsion or obligation to a person (or occasionally thing); tied, bound; obligated. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > [adjective] > by restraint or obligation
addict1529
1529 J. Frith Pistle Christen Reader lxxviii. sig. Nvi Be not parcyallye addicte to the one nor to the other.
a1533 J. Frith Against Rastel (?1535–6) sig. Aviii As the sprete of god is bounde to no place, even so is he not addicte to anye age or person.
1549 L. Cox tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Titus i. 1 I Paule my selfe ye addict seruaunt & obeyer, not of Moses lawe as I was once, but of God ye father.
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing Ep. Ded. sig. A.iij I perceiue my selfe something addict and tyed with the bonde of singular & great friendship.
1583 W. Fulke Def. Transl. Script. xiii. 448 Delivering is a kind of ‘dissolving,’ or ‘breaking from him’ to whom he was before addict or bound.
1610 in Misc. Sc. Hist. Soc. (1904) II. 175 So addict to thame.
2. That devotes oneself or is attached to a form of conduct, pursuit, etc., esp. immoderately or compulsively; (also in weakened sense) inclined or prone to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > [adjective] > that does something habitually > given or addicted to something
given1487
addict1530
addicted1546
apt?1550
prostitute1591
hooked (on)1925
1530 G. Joye tr. M. Bucer Psalter of Dauid f. 150v All that are addicte vnto wikednes, shal begynne to sprede themselfe to thentente they shulde be blowen awaye for ever.
1535 J. ap Rice in W. B. Scoones Four Cent. Eng. Lett. (1881) 33 He seemeth to be addict to the mayntenyng of suche supersticious ceremones.
1556 R. Robinson tr. T. More Utopia (ed. 2) sig. Svv I beyng then of purpose more earnestly addict to heare.
1561 J. Daus tr. H. Bullinger Hundred Serm. vpon Apocalips xlvi. 308 Geuen to voluptuousnes, full of surfetting, addicte to filthie luste.
1649 W. Dell City-ministers Unmasked 29 Unless all such as be addict to avarice, from the least to the most, be first converted and reclaimed.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. v. 1084 A foolish daughter petulant, addict To evil only.
1840 J. Haynes Mary Stuart i. ii. 19 'Tis on record That Cæsar was addict to faintings, fits, When he made Rome his footstool.
1930 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 9 Nov. 5/3 The Main Street school of criticism is addict to a curious habit. It does not ask whether a saying is true. All that it cares about is whether the thing has been said before.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
addictv.
/əˈdɪkt/, U.S. /əˈdɪk(t)/ Usually with to.
I. To bind to the service of.† 2.
1. transitive. Roman Law. To deliver or hand over formally (a person or thing) in accordance with a judicial decision; cf. addiction n. 4. Also intransitive, figurative and in extended use. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > transfer of property > putting in possession > put (a person) in possession [verb (transitive)] > hand over
deliver1528
addict1534
1534 T. More Treat. Passion in Wks. (1557) 1280/1 The kinde of man, that was by synne addicted and adiudged to the diuel, as his perpetuall thrall.
1587 J. Hooker Chron. Ireland 61/2 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II With what limitation a prince may or may not addict his realme feodarie to another.
1592 tr. F. Du Jon Apocalypsis vi. 7 That God will addict the fourth part of this world..unto death and hell.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. viii. x. 288 k The man who is..addicted and destined [L. devotus est] to death.
1774 S. Hallifax Anal. Rom. Law (ed. 4) 58 The Effects of the deceased were by the Praetor addicted, or made over, to one or more of the manumitted Slaves.
1853 W. Smith Smaller Dict. Greek & Rom. Antiq. (ed. 2) 1038/2 According to the old law a manifestus fur was liable to a capitalia poena and was addicted (addicebatur) to the person whose property he had stolen; but it was doubted whether the effect of the addictio was to make him a servus or to put him in the condition of an adjudicatus.
1855 N. L. Lindley tr. A. F. J. Thibaut Introd. Study Jurispr. App. p. lx The seizure was made by an executor..who either caused the same to be sold for the benefit of the plaintiff, or addicted them to the plaintiff.
1880 J. Muirhead tr. Ulpian Rules xix, in tr. Gaius Institutes 398 Cession..is accomplished by [co-operation of] three persons,—the cedent, the vindicant, and the addicent. It is the owner that cedes; he to whom the thing is ceded vindicates; the praetor addicts.
1921 P. Stein & W. W. Buckland Text-bk. Rom. Law vi. 233 The intended transferee claimed the thing, using the words which would be employed in an actual vindicatio... The Praetor ‘addicted’ the thing to the claimant.
1967 J. A. Crook Law & Life Rome v. 173 If you failed [to pay a debt] you were brought before the magistrate, and..you were ‘addicted’ to your creditor, who could keep you in private bondage for another sixty days.
a. transitive (reflexive). To bind or attach oneself to a person, party, or cause; to devote oneself to as a servant, adherent, or disciple. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > support or encouragement > support or encourage [verb (transitive)] > be adherent of > become adherent of
falla1400
addict1542
espouse1595
1542 T. Elyot Bibliotheca at Paulus Rather to leaue of vntylle he maye be discretely satisfied, than to addicte hym selfe to any newe opinyon..contrary to that whych the catholyke church hath vertuousely vsyd.
1558 Q. Kennedy Compendius Tractiue ii. sig. Biiiv Mony..that..addictis thame selfis to the wickit opinioun.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cxxxvijv He addicted him selfe to neyther of them: but now..he semed to incline to the Emperour.
1621 First & Second Bk. Discipline (Church of Scotl.) 86 True bishops should addict themselves to a particular flocke.
1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. 39 He addicted himselfe a scholar to Gorgias the Leontine.
1653 in R. Baxter Christian Concord A 3 We do Agree and Resolve, not to addict or engage ourselves to any Party.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. v. 208 We sincerely addict our selves to Almighty God.
1784 H. More Let. Apr. in W. Roberts Mem. (1834) I. 182 I think we had above thirty..; and yet, being, as it were, at home, I was obliged to divide myself to avoid the censure of addicting myself to favourites.
1837 J. Pring Christian Modes of Thinking & Doing III. 349 Whatever master or spirit a man addicts himself to in deed, of that spirit or master he is: that is his proprietor.
1857 A. Trollope Barchester Towers (1859) xx. 235 He had addicted himself to a party in religion, and having done so had received that benefit which most men do who become partisans in such a cause.
b. transitive. To bind or cause to be attached to; to transfer or dedicate to the service of. Obsolete.Sometimes with more or less direct allusion to sense 1. In quot. 1555 app: to annex.
ΚΠ
1549 T. Hoby tr. M. Bucer Gratulation sig. Aviv Those can he also easely afterward make beleue, and..addict them altogether vnto hys moste detestable doctryne and tyrannye.
1555 R. Eden in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 151v Theyr chiefe ruler..led them vp to the toppe of the towre, where they erected a banner and addicted the Ilande to the dominion of the kynge of Castyle, namynge it Sancta Crux.
1620 tr. G. Boccaccio Decameron I. ii. vii. f. 60 The Goddesse of chastity..is highly reuerenced and regarded among the women of that Countrey, and to her religious seruice, they are wholly addicted.
1653 T. Urquhart Logopandecteision vi. 35 Sir Philbert Vernati..addicted the abjectest of the people to to [sic] the servitritiary duty of digging for Coals and Metals.
1759 O. Goldsmith Enq. Present State Polite Learning ii. 29 These men also contributed to obstruct the progress of wisdom, by addicting their readers to one particular sect, or some favourite science.
1769 Information against Joseph Clark 4 By entering into one coal, they were understood to have made choice of and addicted their service to that coal only.
II. To practise devotion to an occupation, activity, or object.† 4. transitive. To devote (time) to a particular object or activity; to focus (one's studies) on a specific area. Obsolete.
3.
a. transitive (reflexive). To dedicate or devote oneself to an occupation, activity, or object. Now rare and archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > occupy or busy oneself [verb (reflexive)] > devote or apply oneself
choosea1300
yield?a1366
givea1400
employ1439
applyc1450
poura1500
intend?1504
delivera1533
addict1534
bequeath1558
bend1591
devotea1616
devow1626
surrendera1732
puzzle1751
1534 tr. Erasmus Dyaloge Funus sig. C.viiiv Our chyldren, whome þou must so bryng vp in al mekenesse..and ware lest they do addyct themselues to ony voluntary purposed lyuyng, vnto the tyme it may appere..to what maner of lyuyng they be moost apte.
1577 M. Hanmer tr. Socrates Scholasticus i. vi, in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. 228 Addicting my selfe together with you vnto the same busines.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. ii. 120 To forsweare thinpotations [sic], and to addict themselues to sacke. View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Cor. xvi. 15 They haue addicted [Wyclif, Rhem. ordained, Tindale, Cranmer appointed, Geneva given] themselues to the ministery of the Saints. View more context for this quotation
1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. Introd. Pref. sig. b3 Addicting themselves..to Write Occasional Reflections.
1714 T. Hearne Ductor Historicus (ed. 3) I. iii. 414 He addicted himself to the Discipline of Pythagoras.
1772 J. Priestley Inst. Relig. I. 36 Persons who addict themselves to vice and wickedness become miserable.
1823 Times 20 Feb. 3/4 As to his folly in ringing bells and following funerals: he admitted that it was unbecoming in a peer to addict himself to such amusements.
1843 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic I. iii. xiii. §6. 578 Such persons..will addict themselves to history or science rather than to creative art.
1923 Ld. Charnwood Theodore Roosevelt i. 10 He had recently..had the sight of one eye knocked out in boxing; and he continued to addict himself to the like pursuits, just so far as age allowed him.
2005 L. Wilmes tr. P. M. Schuster Moving the Stars ii. 35 Doppler was missing the tranquillity needed to addict himself to scientific investigation.
b. transitive. To dedicate or devote (one's body, mind, talents, etc.) to an occupation, activity, or object. Now rare and archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > cause to operate [verb (transitive)] > put in effective operation
yieldc1315
underbear1382
to put forthc1390
showa1398
apply?c1400
to put outc1400
exercisec1405
to put toc1410
employ?1473
enforce1490
exerce1535
adhibit?1538
addict1562
endeavour?1575
work1591
address1598
to give stream to?1611
to lay out1651
exsert1665
exert1682
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > do habitually [verb (transitive)] > accustom (a person) > addict
wedc1397
addict1562
enslave1650
1562 W. Fulwood tr. G. Gratarolus Castel of Mem. vi. sig. Giiijv Wholly to addicte the mynde, fayre vertue to attayne.
1577 H. Peacham Garden of Eloquence sig. Mi It must needes bee, that shee whiche do addicte her body to fylthy lust, doe feare many.
1599 E. Ford Parismenos viii. sig. I3 Archas..delighteth in no vertuous action, but continually addicts his minde to villanie, and vnknightly deedes.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 315 It cannot be..that euer he can addict his mind to graue, serious, and profitable businesse.
1615 T. Jackson Iustifying Faith 40 To addict our best abilities to the seruice.
1705 W. Wall Hist. Infant-baptism I. xviii. 186 Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, had been a Heathen Man; during which time he had addicted his Mind to Poetry and Oratory.
1821 H. J. Todd Mem. B. Walton I. iii. 99 Bishop Bentham..is said to have addicted his mind entirely to the study of theology and the learning of the Hebrew language.
1919 C. Whibley Lit. Stud. 97 Phaer..was a person of ‘a mutable mind’, who addicted his muse to many studies.
c. transitive. To cause (a person) to be devoted or dedicated to an occupation, activity, or practice; to make addicted to (addicted adj. 2).
ΚΠ
1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. i. 44 He addicted the Citizens to Arts.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Suff. 75 His Genious addicted him to the study of Antiquity.
1700 J. Sergeant Transnatural Philos. i. iv. 78 A Sincere and Good Intention..directs and strongly addicts her to the Pursuit of that which is her Chief Good, Eternal Happiness.
1797 H. Owen Sixteen Serm. viii. 167 Cautiously restrain them from those vices, to which they are addicted by the inexperience of their years, or the bias of their inclinations.
1816 W. Scott Antiquary II. i. 20 The researches to which your taste addicts you.
1953 M. Robinson & C. Silverman in E. A. Bock State & Local Governm. (1963) 179 Schwartz's lifetime of trade union experience had accustomed (some said ‘addicted’) him to bargaining, infighting, and intramural conflicts.
2005 G. Troy Morning in Amer. 210 Reagan's example addicted his conservative successors..to throwing tax cuts at problems, paralleling the Democrats' 1960s' addiction to throwing money at problems.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > spending time > spend time or allow time to pass [verb (transitive)] > in some activity
spenda1300
addict1604
busy1629
to put in1863
do1897
1604 J. Marston Malcontent i. iii. sig. B2 & to what doost thou addict thy time to now, more then to those Antique painted drabs that are stil affected of young Courtiers, Flattery, Pride & Venery.
1653 E. Waterhouse Humble Apol. Learning 50 He..addicted his study and time to the ordering and regulation of publick Civil affaires.
1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa ii. ii. 163 The greatest part of the day he addicts either to Study, Devotion, or other Spiritual exercises.
1682 G. Townsend Will in D. Macleane Pembroke College (1897) xii. 299 My desire is that all the said Scholars for their four last years of residence in the said Colledge addict their studies to divinity.
1741 A. Collins Peerage Eng. (ed. 2) IV. 274 Sir Francis Willoughby..let slip no Opportunities for improving himself, detesting no Vice more than Idleness, and addicting his Studies chiefly to the Sciences.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1899
adj.1529v.1534