addiction
noun
Addiction — an ancient Roman legal award binding a person to another's service
Definition
(Roman law) a formal award by a magistrate of a thing or person to another person (as the award of a debtor to his creditor); a surrender to a master; "under Roman law addiction was the justification for slavery"
In depth
In its original Roman legal sense, addiction names a formal award by a magistrate, binding a thing or, notably, a person to another, such as a debtor formally bound into service to satisfy an outstanding obligation. This historical legal meaning, now almost entirely obsolete, shares its root with the word's overwhelmingly dominant modern sense, a compulsive, dependent attachment to a substance or behavior.
Origin
The word descends from Latin addictio, a formal awarding or adjudication, from addicere, to award judicially, formed from ad- (to) and dicere (to say or declare). That ancient sense of being formally 'declared to' or bound over to another remains a fascinating etymological root for the modern sense of addiction, the dependent person similarly, if metaphorically, bound over to the substance or behavior that controls them.
Usage examples
"Roman law's concept of addiction formally bound an insolvent debtor's labor to his creditor until the debt was satisfied."
"Legal historians trace the curious etymological connection between this ancient practice and the modern, entirely different sense of addiction."
"Scholars of Roman jurisprudence still study addiction as an important early example of formalized debt bondage."
How to use it
This ancient legal sense of addiction is entirely obsolete in contemporary English and would cause significant confusion if used without extensive historical or scholarly context; the word's modern meaning, compulsive dependency, dominates virtually all contemporary usage.
Related concepts
Looking for a word but don't know its name?
Try the Word Finder →