Added 2 October 2026
abusage
/əˈbjuːsɪd͡ʒ/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about abusage at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
Origin
From abuse + -age. First appeared in Middle English, c. 1450–1475, meaning “sexual misconduct”: cf. abuse (“forcing of undesired sexual activity”). Later in the 16th century, a general synonym of abuse. The word was partly repopularized after the appearance of a grammar titled Usage and Abusage: A Guide to Good English in 1942.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)