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> terms such as blackmail Isn't it weird that people that don't know words etymology want to decide what they mean for the rest of us? > 1550s, "tribute paid to men allied with criminals as protection against pillage, etc.," 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.)). In 1550 USA didn't even exist, not even in the form of colonies, that formed after 1600. The first known settlement in what we call US today is by the Spanish in 1513 that reached Florida. So no, blackmail doesn't mean what you think it means and doesn't come from where you think it does. |