Where does the word blackmail come from

The word comes from the freebooting clan chieftains who ran protection rackets against farmers in Scotland and northern England. The custom persisted until midc. Black from the evil of the practice.

Blackmail is an act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offence, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a threat to do something that would cause a person to suffer embarrassment or financial loss. A person is guilty of blackmail if, with a view to gain for himself or another or with intent to cause loss to another, he makes any unwarranted demand with menaces In popular culture, 'blackmail' involves a threat to reveal or publicize either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to family members or associates rather than to the general public.

Where does the word blackmail come from

Posted on September 20, As originally used, mail probably referred to rent paid to a landlord. It may derive from the ancient association between the color black and evil deeds. Or it could simply serve as a contrast to white mail — to distinguish rent paid in goods or services from rent paid with cash. Whatever its origins, by the 16th century, blackmail had come to refer to protection money paid by farmers and other tenants on the English-Scottish border. As of the 19th century, however, the word had expanded to mean payment extorted by intimidation or pressure or by unprincipled officials and journalists with the power to help or hurt other. By the end of the century, it had expanded into its current meaning of a payment secured by threats or pressure, in particular, the threat of revealing an embarrassing or disparaging fact. In Nevada, the crime of blackmail is known as extortion, NRS Extortion under NRS In addition to restitution of whatever has been paid to you, possible penalties for extortion in Nevada can include:. PC makes it illegal to use force or threats to compel someone give you money or other property in order not to:.

Contents move to sidebar hide.

This is one of those words where I wonder what degree of literal it ever accomplished. Was it at some point actually black? And the shame of receiving one, for who would be blackmailed if they were a holy and upstanding citizen? The secret they carry is bad enough for another to extort them! What does it mean? Currently, this is demanding payment or another benefit from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them.

Claim: The word "blackmail" came about because it referenced letters of extortion sent via mail. Origins: "Blackmail," a word for the extortion of money or other considerations to forestall the making public of injurious revelations or accusations, derives not from the intuitively obvious source of relating to letters dispatched by those looking to make a buck off their knowledge of the missteps of others. The "mail" in "blackmail" has nothing to do with missives delivered by the postal service nor does it have anything to do, as claimed in one outlandish theory, with freelance knights gone brigand whose chain mail turned to black in concert with their dark deeds. Blackmail instead began its linguistic career as a descriptor for the process of paying off those who would otherwise inflict physical harm i. Its "mail" portion derives from the Old Norse word "mal," meaning "agreement," which subsequently expanded in Old and Middle English to encompass payments made pursuant to bargains struck between two or more parties and then to payments in general. The word did not shift to its current meaning of a bribe tendered in exchange for silence about embarrassing personal matters until around Prior to that time, what was being safeguarded were tangible items houses, cattle, one's physical person rather than intangible one's reputation and secrets. Blackmail need not always be about the extortion of hush money, as demonstrated by a common urban legend about a child's threat to reveal something Mommy would rather not have made public knowledge.

Where does the word blackmail come from

Add to word list Add to word list. C2 the act of getting money from people or forcing them to do something by threatening to tell a secret of theirs or to harm them:. If you are in a position of authority , any weakness leaves you open to blackmail.

Southcoast obits

This tracks with the older meaning of people essentially in a gang that demanded money from farmers and tradesmen in return for not breaking their stuff and beating them up and just taking the money anyway. What did it come from? Sextortion the rise of social media blackmail has been observed, which is popular among individuals deemed to hold power or authority in fields like politics, education, and the workplace. The person has committed the crime of blackmail, even though he separately has the legal right both to threaten to expose a crime and to request money from a person. Extortion is usually a felony in California. Culture and TV. Forgery Cheating the public revenue Uttering. Attach another file if needed. Entries linking to blackmail black adj. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Blackmail is counterintuitive. Missing Letter A crossword with a twist Play. Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms.

There are three meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun blackmail , one of which is labelled obsolete. Etymons: black adj. Sign in with library card.

Culture and TV. As originally used, mail probably referred to rent paid to a landlord. But if blackmail is fundamentally a question about control, then Edwin Post decided that telling on himself was better than giving that option to anyone else. On the subject of blackmail , however, we may provide some information. Confidential missives that threaten to enter the wrong hands? Of coffee with nothing added, attested by More to Explore pressure. See Definitions and Examples ». Archived from the original on 12 April Archived from the original on 19 September Nine letters to connote all the dirtiness and manipulation that comes with the threat of disclosure. Black dog "melancholy" is attested from Ngrams are probably unreliable. In popular culture, 'blackmail' involves a threat to reveal or publicize either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met.