Where does “extortion” come from?

Extortion comes from Middle English extorcion, from Late Latin extortio, from Latin extorqueo, meaning to twist out or wring from, formed from the prefix ex- and the root ex-.

extortion (English): The practice of extorting money or other property...

Definitions

  1. The practice of extorting money or other property...

Ancestry of “extortion”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishextorcionExtortion; being threatening for the purpose of...
2Late Latinextortio—
3LatinextorqueoI extort; I tear away, twist away, wrench out
4Latintorqueōto spin, whirl, twirl, turn, cause to revolve
5Proto-Indo-Europeanterkʷ-to turn, spin

Words derived from “extortion”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European terkʷ- →Every word from Latin torqueō →Every word from Latin extorqueo →