noun

abduction

ab-DUK-shun/æbˈdʌkʃn/

The unlawful taking away of a person.

The woman struggles against her abduction as a man pulls her toward a van.

A struggling woman is forcibly pulled toward an open van by a man gripping her upper arm; bound wrists, backward-braced feet, and the open vehicle doorway make the forced removal explicit.

Etymology

abLatinaway, off

+ductLatinto lead

+ionLatinact or process

The pieces express an act of “leading away,” which already included forcible removal in Latin. The criminal sense focuses that image on taking a person away, rather than on movement away in general.

In context

The People Profiles44:03

January 1865 the weapons Booth had bought had been smuggled into Washington, a buggy intended to spirit Lincoln away had been purchased, and three boats which it was planned the abduction crew would use

John Wilkes Booth - Why He Killed Lincoln

More examples

The witness described an attempted abduction.
Several abductions were linked to the same group.
The family appealed for information about the abduction.

Forms

abduction · abductions

Similar words

kidnapping: The more usual everyday word for unlawfully taking someone away.
seizure: Seizure is broader and need not involve carrying a person away.