FreeScrabbleDictionary

blackmail

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
19
Words With Friends
24
Letters
9
Pronunciation
/ˈblækˌmeɪl/

Definition of blackmail

7 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. (uncountable)The extortion of money or favors by threats of public accusation, critique, or exposure.
See all 7 definitions

noun

  1. (uncountable)The extortion of money or favors by threats of public accusation, critique, or exposure.
  2. (broadly, uncountable)Compromising material that can be used to extort someone.
  3. (broadly, uncountable)Compromising material that can be used to extort someone.
  4. (archaic, uncountable)A form of protection money (or corn, cattle, etc.) anciently paid, in the north of England and south of Scotland, to the allies of robbers in order to be spared from pillage.
  5. (England, historical, uncountable)Black rent; rent paid in corn, meat, or the lowest coin, as opposed to white rent, which was paid in silver.

verb

  1. (transitive)To extort money or favors from (a person) by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, such as injury to reputation, distress of mind, false accusation, etc.
    “He blackmailed a businesswoman by threatening to expose an alleged fraud.”
  2. (Kenya)To speak ill of someone; to defame someone.

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From black + mail (“a piece of money”). Compare Middle English blak rente (“a type of blackmail levied by Irish chieftains”). The word is variously derived from the tribute paid…

See full etymology

From black + mail (“a piece of money”). Compare Middle English blak rente (“a type of blackmail levied by Irish chieftains”). The word is variously derived from the tribute paid by English and Scottish border dwellers to border reivers in return for immunity from raids and other harassment. This tribute was paid in goods or labour, in Latin reditus nigri (“black mail”); the opposite is blanche firmes or reditus albi (“white rent”), denoting payment by silver. McKay derives it from two Scottish Gaelic words blàthaich, pronounced (the th silent) bl-aich, "to protect" and màl (“tribute, payment”). He notes that the practice was common in the Scottish Highlands as well as the Borders. More likely, from black + Middle English mal, male, maile (“a payment, rent, tribute”), from Old English māl (“speech, contract, agreement, lawsuit, terms, bargaining”), from Old Norse mál (“agreement, speech, lawsuit”); related to Old English mæðel (“meeting, council”), mæl (“speech”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌸𐌻 (maþl, “meeting place”), from Proto-Germanic *maþlą (“gathering, agreement”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to give advice, measure”). 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 (“fine imposed for fornication”) (1530s, Scottish).

Words you can make from blackmail

108 playable · top: KALIMBA (15 pts)

Best play kalimba 15 points

7-letter words

2 words

6-letter words

9 words

5-letter words

17 words

4-letter words

38 words

3-letter words

28 words

2-letter words

13 words

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

A single letter you can add to blackmail to make another valid word.

Back

Find your best play with blackmail

See every word you can make from a set of letters that includes blackmail, or browse word lists you can mine for high-scoring plays.

Find more plays Browse word lists