raping
UK[ˈreɪpɪŋ]US[ˈreɪpɪŋ]
v
The present participle or gerund of the verb 'rape', meaning to force someone to have sex when they are unwilling, using violence or threats.
v
(archaic) The act of seizing and carrying off by force; plundering.
Etymology
The verb 'rape' entered English in the late 14th century from the Anglo-French 'raper', Old French 'raper', meaning "to seize, take by force, abduct". This, in turn, derives from the Latin 'rapere', meaning "to seize, carry off by force, abduct". The Latin verb is from the Proto-Indo-European root rep- "to snatch". The specific sexual sense emerged in the early 15th century from the broader concept of violent seizure and carrying away. The form 'raping' simply applies the standard English verbal inflection to this historical simplex root, indicating the ongoing action or state derived from the base verb.
Analysis
The word 'raping' is the inflected form of the simplex verb 'rape'. It is not productively segmented into distinct morphemes in modern English. The '-ing' is a present participle/gerund suffix (from Old English '-ende' and '-inge').
Examples
He was convicted of raping multiple victims over a decade.
The invading army was accused of raping and pillaging the civilian population.
The novel graphically describes the act of raping, focusing on the survivor's trauma.