kidnapper








verb (used with object), kid·napped or kid·naped, kid·nap·ping or kid·nap·ing.

  1. to steal, carry off, or abduct by force or fraud, especially for use as a hostage or to extract ransom.

verb -naps, -napping or -napped or US -naps, -naping or -naped

  1. (tr) to carry off and hold (a person), usually for ransom
n.

1670s; see kidnap (though this word is attested a few years earlier).

v.

1680s, compound of kid (n.) “child” and nap “snatch away,” variant of nab; originally “steal children to provide servants and laborers in the American colonies.” Related: Kidnapped; kidnapping.

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