Addiction etymology
Addiction etymology, or the historical roots of the word "addiction", are fascinating.
Shakespeare was the first to use "addiction" in the modern sense, in his play Henry V (Act I, Scene 1), in reference to the king:
| “ | his addiction was to courses vain | ” |
By that the Archbishop in this play was observing that the King was inclined to activities that reinforced his own vanity.
Around the beginning of the 20th century the word "addict" switched from an adjective to a noun, to refer primarily to drug dependency.[1] Fully 10% of Americans have suffered from drug addiction in their lives (some estimates go as high as 20%),[2] and nearly all Americans have suffered from that or other types of addiction. "Nearly 1 in 4 adults 18 and older, and 1 in 3 among adults aged 18 to 25, had a mental illness in the past year."[3]
Latin and Greek roots
The Latin root is most commonly cited as the origin for "addiction": "addictus" (its past tense is addicere).
But the earlier Greek root, "adikia", is the one used in the New Testament. This term is used 25 times in 24 verses in the Greek New Testament (in 5 unique forms of the word), according to Strong's.[4]
Adikia
The Greek "adikia" includes the root for justice, "dike", and conveys the concept that addiction consists of someone extending improperly outside of his own realm without respect for his neighbor. The indirect harm caused by addiction to others, in addition to the immense selfish harm to oneself from addiction, illustrates that.
See also
References
- ↑ https://www.northpointrecovery.com/blog/slave-addiction-origins-word/
- ↑ https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/01/04/samhsa-announces-national-survey-drug-use-health-results-detailing-mental-illness-substance-use-levels-2021.html#:~:text=Drug%20Use%20and%20Substance%20Use,drugs%20in%20the%20past%20year.
- ↑ https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/01/04/samhsa-announces-national-survey-drug-use-health-results-detailing-mental-illness-substance-use-levels-2021.html#:~:text=Drug%20Use%20and%20Substance%20Use,drugs%20in%20the%20past%20year.
- ↑ https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g93/kjv/tr/0-1/
