Extortion

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Extortion \Ex*tor"tion\, n. [F. extorsion.]
     1. The act of extorting; the act or practice of wresting
        anything from a person by force, by threats, or by any
        undue exercise of power; undue exaction; overcharge.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. (Law) The offense committed by an officer who corruptly
        claims and takes, as his fee, money, or other thing of
        value, that is not due, or more than is due, or before it
        is due. --Abbott.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. That which is extorted or exacted by force.
  
     Syn: Oppression; rapacity; exaction; overcharge.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  extortion
       n 1: an exorbitant charge
       2: unjust exaction (as by the misuse of authority); "the
          extortion by dishonest officials of fees for performing
          their sworn duty"
       3: the felonious act of extorting money (as by threats of
          violence)

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  69 Moby Thesaurus words for "extortion":
     armed robbery, asportation, assault and robbery, badger game,
     banditry, bank robbery, blackmail, bloodsucking, call, call for,
     cattle lifting, cattle stealing, claim, contribution, demand,
     demand for, draft, drain, duty, exaction, exploitation,
     extortionate demand, heavy demand, heist, highway robbery,
     hijacking, holdup, imposition, impost, indent, insistent demand,
     levy, loan-sharking, mugging, nonnegotiable demand, notice, order,
     overassessment, overcharge, pocket picking, protection racket,
     purse snatching, rending, requirement, requisition, ripping,
     robbery, robbing, rush, rush order, shakedown, shylocking, stickup,
     stickup job, surcharge, tax, taxing, tearing, tribute, ultimatum,
     usury, vampirism, warning, wrench, wrenching, wrest, wresting,
     wring, wringing
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  EXTORTION, crimes. In a large sense it, signifies any oppression, under 
  color of right: but in a more strict sense it means the unlawful taking by 
  any officer, by color of his office, of any money or thing of value that is 
  not due to him, or more than is due, or before it is due. 4 Bl. Com. 141; 1 
  Hawk. P. C. c. 68, s. 1; 1 Russ. Cr. *144. To constitute extortion, there 
  must be the receipt of money or something of value; the taking a promissory 
  note, which is void, is. not sufficient to make an extortion. 2 Mass. R. 
  523; see Bac. Ab. h.t.; Co. Litt. 168. It is extortion and oppression for 
  an officer to take money for the performance of his duty, even though it be 
  in the exercise of a discretionary power. 2 Burr. 927. It differs from 
  exaction. (q.v.) See 6 Cowen, R. 661; 1 Caines, R. 130; 13 S. & R. 426 1 
  Yeates, 71; 1 South. 324; 3 Penna. R. 183; 7 Pick.  279; 1 Pick. 171.