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blackmail

Etymology and origin of the English word blackmail

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From
Old Norse mál

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈblækˌmeɪl/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of black and mail in the obsolete sense “rent, tribute”,[2][3][4][5] Middle English male,[3] from Old English māl “agreement, bargaining”,[3] from Old Norse mál (“speech, agreement”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A tribute exacted from farmers in the border counties of England and Scotland by freebooting chiefs, in return for protection from plunder (1552).[6][4][3]

Semantic evolution

The word comes from the protection rackets of clan chieftains in Scotland and northern England, a custom that lasted until the mid-18th century;[3] black refers to the evil of the practice.[3] By the 1820s the sense had widened to any payment extorted by intimidation,[6][3] especially by the threat of exposing a scandal or crime.[3][4] The verb is recorded from 1852 in Etymonline and 1880 in the OED.[3][6]

Timeline

  • 1552 – tribute paid to border freebooters.[6][4]
  • 1605 – (law) rent paid in labour or produce rather than silver.[6]
  • by 1826 – any payment extorted by intimidation.[6][3]
  • 1852 – verb, to extort by threats (Etymonline, 1880 in the OED).[3][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The extortion of money or something else of value from a person by threatening to reveal a crime or damaging information.
  2. Something of value obtained in this way.
  3. (historical) A tribute once paid to freebooters on the Scottish border for protection from plunder.

Verb

  1. To extort money or favours from someone by threats.
  2. To force someone into an action by threats or pressure.

Word family

  • blackmailer
  • graymail
  • greenmail
  • extortion

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

  • thrall · also from Old Norse
  • thwart · also from Old Norse
  • haggle · also from Old Norse
  • awkward · also from Old Norse
  • same · also from Old Norse
  • big · also from Old Norse
  • until · also from Old Norse
  • both · also from Old Norse
Cite this entry

“Blackmail.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/blackmail. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·