'addiction' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'addictio,' where 'ad-' meant 'toward' and 'dicere' meant 'to say or declare.'

'addictio' transformed into the Old French word 'addiction,' and eventually became the modern English word 'addiction' through Middle English.

Initially, it meant 'a formal giving over or delivery,' but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'a compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance.'