Forcing someone to give you money or something valuable by using threats or violence.
From Latin 'extortus,' past participle of 'extorquere' (to twist out), combining 'ex-' (out) and 'torquere' (to twist). Originally meant literally to twist something out of someone's grasp.
The Latin root 'torquere' also gives us 'torture' and 'torque'—they're all about twisting. Extortion literally means 'twisting something out' of someone, which makes the crime's violent nature clear right from the word's origin!
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