blackmail

英 ['bl?kme?l] 美['bl?kmel]

考研低頻詞CET6+TEM8GRE擴展詞匯

第三人稱單數:?blackmails;過去式:?blackmailed;過去分詞:?blackmailed;現在分詞:?blackmailing;

blackmail 勒索

black, 黑，此處指邪惡。mail, 此處指租金，貢金。來自16世紀蘇格蘭一些土匪向當地農民強制收租，類似保護費。

blackmail: blackmail: see mail
blackmail (n.): 1550s, from black (adj.) + Middle English male "rent, tribute," from Old English mal "lawsuit, terms, bargaining, agreement," from Old Norse mal "speech, agreement;" related to Old English m?eel "meeting, council," m?l "speech," Gothic matl "meeting place," from Proto-Germanic *mathla-, from PIE *mod- "to meet, assemble" (see meet (v.)). From the practice of freebooting clan chieftains who ran protection rackets against Scottish farmers. Black from the evil of the practice. Expanded c. 1826 to any type of extortion money. Compare silver mail "rent paid in money" (1590s); buttock-mail (Scottish, 1530s) "fine imposed for fornication."
blackmail (v.): 1852, from blackmail (n.). Related: Blackmailed; blackmailing.

1. She was a prime target for blackmail, don't you see?: 她是敲詐的主要目標。你難道看不出來嗎？

2. The tactics employed can range from overt bullying to subtle emotional blackmail.: 從公然威嚇到微妙的情感脅迫，各種戰術都用上了。

3. That was a terrible case of blackmail in the paper today.: 今天報上登的那宗勒索案真可怕。

4. It looks like the pictures were being used for blackmail.: 這些照片好像被用于敲詐勒索。