When we use the word victim, we often think of a person or animal who is subjected to harm against his or her will. The word invokes pity and empathy, but this was not always the case for those who were declared victims in the past.
Victim comes from the Latin word victima (vik-ti-ma) and was used in the 15th century to describe a person or animal who was offered as a sacrifice to a god, goddess, or a cause.
A sacrificial person, the victim, would be killed in the hopes of receiving something in return.
Or the person, usually someone captured from an opposing army, was killed in honor of victory after a battle.
By the 17th century, a victim was simply a person who was hurt or killed by another person.
In the early 18th century, a victim was someone who was politically oppressed, but by the late 18th century, a victim was anyone who was seen as weak and easily taken advantage of.
In the 19th century, prostitutes would “hook their victims,” meaning they would take advantage of a weak willed man. People became victims of each other, laws, advertising, sex, and addictions.
Today, victim has become a versatile word. It can be applied to those who are killed, those who are forced into doing something against their will, and those who are placed in the role of sacrifice.
