extortion

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English extorcioun, also extorsioun,^[2][3][4] borrowed from extorsion and directly borrowed from Latin extortiō,^[3][2][5][6] a Late Latin noun of action meaning torture or a twisting out,^[3][7][4] from extortus, the past participle of extorqueō (“to wrench out, obtain by force”),^[5][4][7] which is formed from ex- (“out”) and torqueō (“to twist”).^[4] The Anglo-Norman noun is recorded from 1212, for illegal coercion and the illegal exaction of money.^[8] It is related to extort, torque and torture.^[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The wresting of money or property from someone by force or by abuse of authority: about 1340, in Richard Rolle's prose treatises.^[5] Etymonline dates it to about 1300.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the word covered illegal exaction in general and also an exorbitant impost or fine;^[2] Chaucer used it six times and Gower three.^[9] Early lawyers gave it a narrower meaning: from 1607 it was the offence of an officer who takes, by colour of his office, money that is not due.^[5][3] Johnson (1755) defined it as gaining by violence and rapacity, quoting Shakespeare's Henry VIII.^[10] In the 17th and 18th centuries it was also used in its literal Latin sense, of wresting the meaning of a word (1652) or straining the nerves (1725).^[5] A verb extortion, to practise extortion, appears in 1502, and by about 1650 it meant to overcharge;^[5] in Cheshire dialect it was still used for cheating someone with a high price.^[11] American slang of the 1890s jokingly called the bill the extortion.^[12]

Timeline

• c. 1340 – the wresting of money from a person by force or by abuse of power.^[5]
• before 1398 – also an exorbitant impost or fine.^[2]
• 1502 – verb, to practise extortion.^[5]
• 1607 – in law, an officer's taking of money not due to him.^[5]
• 1652 – a wresting of the sense of a word (obsolete).^[5]
• 1727 – an extortionate claim (obsolete).^[5]
• 1891 – in American slang, the price or bill.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act or practice of getting money, property or favours from someone by force, threats or intimidation; blackmail: The gang was charged with extortion.^[13][3][5]
2. In law, the offence of a public official who takes money that is not due by abusing the office.^[3][5]
3. Something extorted, especially a grossly excessive charge: Those ticket prices are sheer extortion.^[3][5]

Word family

• extortionary
• extortioner
• extortionist

Related words

• extortionate
• extort
• torque
• torture
• torment
• contort
• distort

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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)
3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
9. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
12. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
13. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins