blackmail
Definitions
The act of demanding money or favors by threatening to reveal damaging information
敲诈，勒索；要挟
To extort money or compliance from someone using threats
敲诈，勒索；要挟（某人）
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedblack + mail, where 'mail' is NOT the post — it's old Scots māl, 'rent, tribute.' Highland chiefs forced farmers to pay 'black rent' (protection money), with 'black' marking it as illegitimate versus honest silver 'white rent.' The menace survived into today's meaning: extorting someone by threatening to expose a secret.
Why It Means This
The surprising part is 'mail.' It comes from Scots/Gaelic māl, meaning rent or tribute — nothing to do with letters. In the lawless Scottish Highlands, chiefs demanded 'black rent' as protection money from farmers; 'black' branded it as sinister and unlawful, opposed to legitimate 'white rent' paid in silver coin. English absorbed the word and generalized it to any threat-based extortion.
Common Collocations
- 1.blackmail someone勒索某人
- 2.emotional blackmail情感绑架
- 3.fall victim to blackmail成为勒索的受害者
Example Sentences
- 1.
He tried to blackmail his boss with the leaked emails.
- 2.
Paying the blackmail only invites further demands.
- 3.
She refused to be blackmailed into staying silent.
Synonym Comparison
- blackmail — extort by threatening to reveal a secret
- extort — obtain by force or threats of any kind (broader)
- coerce — compel through pressure or threat, not always for money
- bribe — the opposite direction: pay someone to act dishonestly
- ransom — money demanded for releasing a captured person or thing