Etymologically
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bribe

Etymology and origin of the English word bribe

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /bɹaɪb/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English bribe,[2][3] borrowed from Old French bribe (“morsel of bread given to a beggar, alms”),[2][4][5][6][3] from briber, brimber “to beg”,[4][5][7] a general Romance word (compare Spanish bribar “to beg” and briba “vagrancy”).[5][7] The group is of uncertain origin;[4][5][7] it has been called thieves' cant, and a Celtic source related to break has been suggested.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a verb, to steal, purloin or extort (c. 1386 in the OED; about 1390 in Barnhart);[8][4][5] as a noun, something stolen, plunder (c. 1386), or something given to a beggar (about 1425).[8][4][3]

Semantic evolution

The word began in French as alms given to a beggar.[9][4] Because beggars came to demand such alms, in English it took on the sense of extortion and theft.[9][5] By the mid-15th century a bribe was a gift given to influence someone corruptly;[5][4][3] at first it seems to have been regarded as something extorted by an official or judge (1535), and later as something offered voluntarily to corrupt someone (1555).[8] The verb in the modern sense, to influence corruptly by a reward, dates from 1528.[8][4][5][6] Bribery first meant theft (before 1387).[4][7]

Timeline

  • c. 1386 – verb, to steal, extort.[8]
  • before 1387 – bribery, theft.[4]
  • about 1425 – noun, a gift to a beggar.[4][3]
  • before 1439 – a gift to influence corruptly.[4][3]
  • 1528 – verb, to corrupt with a gift.[8][4][6]
  • 1595 – figuratively, to win over.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Money or a favour given or promised to a person in a position of trust in order to influence his or her judgment or conduct.
  2. Something that serves to persuade or induce.

Verb

  1. To give, offer or promise a bribe to.
  2. To influence or corrupt by bribery, or to obtain by a bribe.
  3. To practise bribery.

Word family

  • bribable
  • briber
  • bribee
  • bribability
  • unbribed
  • unbribing
  • bribery
  • outbribe
  • graft
  • corrupt

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b Hendrickson, Robert (2008), The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th ed., New York: Facts on File

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Bribe.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/bribe. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .