According to ARCR, the Oxford English Dictionary traces the term addiction to Roman law, under which addiction was a “formal giving over by sentence of the court; hence, a dedication of a person to a master.” This notion of relinquishment of control by the addicted person is the central feature of many lay and professional definitions of the term. The study of addictive behavior crosses several disciplines, including, among others, behavioral neuroscience, epidemiology, genetics, molecular biology, pharmacology, psychology, psychiatry, and sociology.
I hope this helped you understand what addiction means.
