blackmail

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: black=mail

CIDE DICTIONARY

blackmail, n. [Black + mail a piece of money.].

•  A certain rate of money, corn, cattle, or other thing, anciently paid, in the north of England and south of Scotland, to certain men who were allied to robbers, or moss troopers, to be by them protected from pillage.  Sir W. Scott.  [1913 Webster]
•  Payment of money exacted by means of intimidation; also, extortion of money from a person by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure.  [1913 Webster]
•  Black rent, or rent paid in corn, flesh, or the lowest coin, a opposed to “white rent”, which paid in silver.  [1913 Webster]

To levy blackmail, to extort money by threats, as of injury to one's reputation.

blackmail, v. t. 

 To extort money from by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, as injury to reputation, distress of mind, etc.; as, to blackmail a merchant by threatening to expose an alleged fraud.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

blackmail, n. & v.
--n.
1 a an extortion of payment in return for not disclosing discreditable information, a secret, etc. b any payment extorted in this way.
2 the use of threats or moral pressure.
--v.tr.
1 extort or try to extort money etc. from (a person) by blackmail.
2 threaten, coerce.

Derivative

blackmailer n.

Etymology

BLACK + obs. mail rent, OE mal f. ON m{aacute}l agreement

THESAURUS

blackmail

account, allowance, ask, ask for, assessment, badger, badger game, bill, blood money, bloodsucking, boodle, booty, call, call for, challenge, claim, clamor for, coerce, compel, contribution, cry for, demand, demand for, draft, drain, duty, emolument, exact, exaction, extort, extortion, extortionate demand, fee, footing, force, force from, graft, haul, heavy demand, hot goods, hush money, impose, imposition, impost, indent, initiation fee, insistent demand, issue an ultimatum, levy, levy blackmail, loot, make, make a demand, mileage, nonnegotiable demand, notice, order, order up, perks, perquisite, pickings, place an order, plunder, pork barrel, prize, protection racket, pry loose from, public till, public trough, put in requisition, ransom, reckoning, rend, rend from, require, requirement, requisition, retainer, retaining fee, rip, rip from, rush, rush order, scot, screw, shake down, shakedown, snatch from, spoil, spoils, spoils of office, squeeze, stealings, stipend, stolen goods, swag, take, tax, taxing, tear from, till, tribute, ultimatum, vampirism, warn, warning, wrench, wrench from, wrest, wring, wring from

ROGET THESAURUS

blackmail

Stealing

N stealing, theft, thievery, latrociny, direption, abstraction, appropriation, plagiary, plagiarism, autoplagiarism, latrocinium, spoliation, plunder, pillage, sack, sackage, rapine, brigandage, foray, razzia, rape, depredation, raid, blackmail, piracy, privateering, buccaneering, license to plunder, letters of marque, letters of mark and reprisal, filibustering, filibusterism, burglary, housebreaking, badger game, robbery, highway robbery, hold-up, mugging, peculation, embezzlement, fraud, larceny, petty larceny, grand larceny, shoplifting, thievishness, rapacity, kleptomania, Alsatia, den of Cacus, den of thieves, blackmail, extortion, shakedown, Black Hand, thief, thieving, thievish, light-fingered, furacious, furtive, piratical, predaceous, predal, predatory, predatorial, raptorial, stolen, sic vos non vobis, stealing, theft, thievery, latrociny, direption, abstraction, appropriation, plagiary, plagiarism, autoplagiarism, latrocinium, spoliation, plunder, pillage, sack, sackage, rapine, brigandage, foray, razzia, rape, depredation, raid, blackmail, piracy, privateering, buccaneering, license to plunder, letters of marque, letters of mark and reprisal, filibustering, filibusterism, burglary, housebreaking, badger game, robbery, highway robbery, hold-up, mugging, peculation, embezzlement, fraud, larceny, petty larceny, grand larceny, shoplifting, thievishness, rapacity, kleptomania, Alsatia, den of Cacus, den of thieves, blackmail, extortion, shakedown, Black Hand, thief, thieving, thievish, light-fingered, furacious, furtive, piratical, predaceous, predal, predatory, predatorial, raptorial, stolen, sic vos non vobis.

Booty

N booty, spoil, plunder, prize, loot, swag, pickings, spolia opima, prey, blackmail, stolen goods, manubial.

Reward

N reward, recompense, remuneration, meed, guerdon, reguerdon, price, indemnity, indemnification, quittance, compensation, reparation, redress, satisfaction, reckoning, acknowledgment, requital, amends, sop, atonement, retribution, consideration, return, quid pro quo, salvage, perquisite, vail, douceur, bribe, hush money, smart money, blackmail, extortion, carcelage, solatium, allowance, salary, stipend, wages, compensation, pay, payment, emolument, tribute, batta, shot, scot, bonus, premium, tip, fee, honorarium, hire, dasturi, dustoori, mileage, crown, remunerative, remuneratory, munerary, compensatory, retributive, reparatory, rewarding, satisfactory, fideli certa merces, honor virtutis praemium, tibi seris tibi metis.