The Meanings of Rape

By Ilan Stavans. A nod to the semantics of “rape” seems pertinent in the current climate. After all, this is a polysemous word, that is, a word with multiple connotations, some of which look like anachronisms.
In Middle English, “rape” was used when talking about haste, as in the proverb “oft rape rues,” or “haste makes waste.” Our contemporary use seems to be linked; “rape” entails an act done rashly and injudiciously—an insincere, histrionic, violent act.
The word has acquired other meanings in modern English. It is a noun, “rape,” and also a verb, “to rape.” It refers to a plant, Brassica napus, of the mustard family, whose seed yields rapeseed oil. In Spanish, rape is monkfish. More...