extortion
Pronunciation
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
- 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]
- In law, the offence of a public official who takes money that is not due by abusing the office.[3][5]
- Something extorted, especially a grossly excessive charge: Those ticket prices are sheer extortion.[3][5]
Word family
- extortionary
- extortioner
- extortionist
Related words
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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)
- ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ 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
- ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
- ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
- ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
- ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
- ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
- ^ 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)
- ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
- ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins