blackmail
UK[ˈblæk.meɪl]US[ˈblæk.meɪl]
n
The crime of demanding money from someone by threatening to tell a secret about them or to harm them.
v
To force someone to do something or give you money by threatening them, especially by threatening to tell a secret.
Morpheme Breakdown
black
mail
black
mail
Etymology
The word 'blackmail' has a surprisingly literal origin in 16th-century Scottish borderlands. It derives from 'mail', an old term for rent or tribute, and 'black', which distinguished this payment as illicit. Specifically, it referred to protection money paid by farmers to local chieftains to avoid being raided. Over time, the meaning generalized from this specific type of coercive tribute to any form of extortion involving threats, completing the journey from a concrete historical practice to a broad legal and social concept.
Analysis
Structure: black + mail
- black (Old English 'blæc'): In this compound, it carries the sense of 'evil', 'sinister', or 'illicit'.
- mail (Middle English 'male', from Old English 'māl'): In this context, it means 'payment', 'rent', or 'tribute'.
Examples
He was found guilty of blackmail after threatening to publish the photographs.
The company refused to give in to the hacker's blackmail demands.
She accused him of trying to blackmail her into dropping the lawsuit.