Word of the Day

: May 27, 2018

arrogate

verb AIR-uh-gayt

What It Means

1 a : to claim or seize without justification

b : to make undue claims to having : assume

2 : to claim on behalf of another : ascribe

arrogate in Context

The city council has accused the mayor of arrogating decision-making authority to himself that rightly belongs with the council.

"Teenage girls rule in the tart but sweet new Broadway musical Mean Girls. But their system of high-school government is far from a democracy: It's a reign of terror, angst and mall fashions, where popularity is arrogated and then ruthlessly enforced." — Adam Feldman, TimeOut New York, 8 Apr. 2018

Did You Know?

Arrogate comes from Latin arrogatus, a past participle of the verb arrogare, which means "to appropriate to one's self." The Latin verb, in turn, was formed from the prefix ad- ("to" or "toward") and the verb rogare ("to ask"). You may have noticed that arrogate is similar to the more familiar arrogant. And there is, in fact, a relationship between the two words. Arrogant comes from Latin arrogant- or arrogans, the present participle of arrogare. Arrogant is often applied to that sense of superiority which comes from someone claiming (or arrogating) more consideration than is due to that person's position, dignity, or power.