'blackmail' originates from the Scottish word 'mail,' meaning 'rent' or 'tribute,' combined with 'black,' referring to the color of the cattle or goods paid as rent.

'mail' changed from the Old Norse word 'mál,' meaning 'agreement' or 'speech,' and eventually became the modern English word 'blackmail.'

Initially, it meant 'tribute paid by English and Scottish border dwellers to border raiders for protection,' but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'extortion.'