What is "blackmail"

Blackmail \Black"mail`\, n. [Black + mail a piece of money.]

1. 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.

2. Payment of money exacted by means of intimidation; also, extortion of money from a person by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure.

3. (Eng. Law) Black rent, or rent paid in corn, flesh, or the lowest coin, a opposed to ``white rent'', which paid in silver.

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

Blackmail \Black"mail`\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blackmailed; p. pr. & vb. n. Blackmailing.] 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. [U. S.]

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 mæðel "meeting, council," mæl "speech," Gothic maþl "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."

1852, from blackmail (n.). Related: Blackmailed; blackmailing.

n. 1 (context archaic English) 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. 2 Payment of money exacted by means of intimidation; also, extortion of money from a person by threats of public accusation, exposure, or censure. 3 (context English law English) black rent, or rent paid in corn, meat, or the lowest coin, as opposed to white rent, which paid in silver. vb. (context transitive English) 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.; as, to blackmail a merchant by threatening to expose an alleged fraud.

1. n. extortion of money by threats to divulge discrediting information

2. v. exert pressure on someone through threats [syn: blackjack, pressure]

3. obtain through threats

Blackmail is a 1939 crime drama film starring Edward G. Robinson and was directed by H.C. Potter.

Blackmail is a German alternative rock band from Koblenz, Germany which was started briefly in 1993. Blackmail are singer Mathias Reetz, brothers Kurt Ebelhäuser (lead guitars) and Carlos Ebelhäuser (bass) and drummer Mario Matthias. Their style of music usually varies, but mainly consists of the indie rock genre which is combined with experimentation of electronic music, progressive rock, alternative rock and dance. It is also known for its harsh and high-pitched guitar melodies.

Blackmail (stylised as blackmail) is the debut album by the artist of the same name. The album consisted of tracks that the band was able to record in a high-tech recording studio that was readily lent to them by a German producer legend named Stuart Bruce who was impressed with their demo-recordings. Bruce, as well as Guido Lucas, produced the album. Guido Lucas started his own record label in Koblenz known as bluNoise Records. blackmail was able to secure his support, after many other record labels turned down their request to be taken in. The album, however, still did not get a very positive consumer response.

Blackmail is an act, often a crime, involving unjustified threats to make a gain (commonly money or property) or cause loss to another unless a demand is met. Essentially, it is coercion involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates, or threats of physical harm or criminal prosecution. It is the name of a statutory offence in the United States, England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Victoria, Australia, and Tasmania, and has been used as a convenient way of referring to other offences, but was not a term of art in English law before 1968. It originally meant payments rendered by settlers in the Counties of England bordering Scotland to chieftains and the like in the Scottish Lowlands, in exchange for protection from Scottish thieves and marauders into England.

Blackmail may also be considered a form of extortion. Although the two are generally synonymous, extortion is the taking of personal property by threat of future harm. Blackmail is the use of threat to prevent another from engaging in a lawful occupation and writing libelous letters or letters that provoke a breach of the peace, as well as use of intimidation for purposes of collecting an unpaid debt. Some US states distinguish the offenses by requiring that blackmail be in writing. In some jurisdictions, the offence of blackmail is often carried out during the act of robbery. This occurs when an offender makes a threat of immediate violence towards someone in order to make a gain as part of a theft. For example, the threat of "Your money, or your life!" is an unlawful threat of violence in order to gain property.

Blackmail is a 1929 British thriller drama film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Anny Ondra, John Longden, and Cyril Ritchard. Based on the 1928 play Blackmail by Charles Bennett, the film is about a London woman who is blackmailed after killing a man who tries to rape her.

After starting production as a silent film, British International Pictures decided to convert Blackmail into a sound film during filming. A silent version was released for theaters not equipped for sound (at 6,740 feet), with the sound version (7,136 feet) released at the same time. The silent version still exists in the British Film Institute collection.

Blackmail is the act of threatening to reveal information about a person or group unless a specific demand is met.
Emotional blackmail is a form of psychological manipulation.

Blackmail may also refer to:

• Blackmail (1929 film), a 1929 UK film directed by Alfred Hitchcock
• Blackmailer (1936 film), a 1936 US film directed by Gordon Wiles
• Blackmail (1939 film), a 1939 US film starring Edward G. Robinson
• Blackmail (1947 film), a 1947 film noir
• Blackmailed (1951 film), a 1951 film with James Robertson Justice
• Black Mail (1973 film), a 1973 Hindi film starring Dharmendra
• Black Mail (1985 film), a 1985 Malayalam film
• Black Mail (1991 film), a 1991 US television film starring Susan Blakely
• Blackmail (2005 film), a 2005 Hindi film starring Ajay Devgan
• Blackmail (2015 film), a Bangladeshi film
• Blackmail (band), a German indie rock band
• Blackmail (album), the self-named debut album of the band
• Blackmail (webisodes), a spin-off series of mini-episodes of The Office
• "Blackmail" (Law & Order), a 2010 episode of the long-running NBC legal drama, Law & Order
• "Blackmail", a song by 10cc from the album The Original Soundtrack

Blackmail is a 2005 Hindi action thriller film directed by Anil Devgan, which stars Ajay Devgan, Sunil Shetty and Priyanka Chopra in lead roles. The film is inspired from the 1996 Hollywood film Ransom. This movie was second movie directed by Ajay Devgan's brother Anil Devgan. He directed Raju Chacha earlier in the year 2000.

Blackmail is the twelfth episode of the twentieth season of the television series Law & Order. It aired on NBC January 15, 2010.

Blackmail is a 1947 American film noir crime film directed by Lesley Selander. The drama features William Marshall, Adele Mara and Ricardo Cortez. The lead character is based on a pulp magazine hero Dan Turner, Hollywood Detective.

Blackmail is a 2015 Bangladeshi film. The film is directed by Anonno Mamun and the cast includes Anisur Rahman Milon, Eamin Haque Bobby and Moushumi Hamid.