kidnap (English)
Where does "kidnap" come from?
The English word 'kidnap' first emerged around 1680 within thieves cant[1]. It is a compound formed from 'kid', meaning a young goat or later a child, and 'nap', meaning to nab or to grab[1][2]. Originally, the term referred specifically to the criminal practice of stealing children and shipping them overseas to colonies or plantations as laborers[1].
Open questions
- The ultimate origin of the Proto-Germanic word for goatling remains unknown and likely stems from a substrate language. [7]
Full etymology tree
- kidnap (English), 'The crime, or an instance, of kidnapping.'
- compound kid (English), 'A child, adolescent, or (loosely) a young adult.'
- inherited kide (Middle English), 'kid, young goat'
- inherited kið (Old Norse), 'a goatling, kid'
- inherited *kidją (Proto-Germanic), 'a goatling, kid'
- inherited kið (Old Norse), 'a goatling, kid'
- inherited kide (Middle English), 'kid, young goat'
- compound nap (English), 'To have a nap; to sleep for a short period of time, especially during the day.'
- inherited nappen (Middle English), 'To nap or doze; to have a short sleep.'
- inherited hnappian (Old English), 'to nap'
- inherited *hnappōn (Proto-West Germanic)
- inherited hnappian (Old English), 'to nap'
- inherited nappen (Middle English), 'To nap or doze; to have a short sleep.'
- compound kid (English), 'A child, adolescent, or (loosely) a young adult.'
Ancestors
- kid (English)
- nap (English)
Sources
- kidnap (English) - Wiktionary
- kid (English) - Wiktionary
- nap (English) - Wiktionary
- kide (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- kið (Old Norse) - Wiktionary
- nappen (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- kidją (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
- hnappian (Old English) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris