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rapt
 (r pt)
KEY
VERB:
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English, carried away, from Latin raptus, past participle of rapere, to seize; see rep- in Indo-European roots OTHER FORMS: rapt·ly (Adverb) WORD HISTORY: One might be surprised to learn that rapt, a word used in describing states of deep delight or absorption, has a relative with an entirely different emotive force  rape. Now most often used to mean "to force someone to submit to sexual acts," rape once had a much broader application, as it meant "to seize, carry off." In fact, it was often used in positive and nonviolent contexts. From the Middle English period, we have examples of its being used to mean "to carry off to heaven from earth," as in "the visions of seynt poul wan [when] he was rapt in to paradys." As this quotation shows, rapt started out as the past participle of rape. As time went on, rapt became restricted to mental or emotional states, while rape developed a new past participle, raped, and became limited to criminal or violent acts.
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