extorter (ekstorter)

[Formerly also ex tortour; extorter Is the violent extort our of other men's goods carried away with his couetous desire? Thou mayest liken him to a wolfe. Boethius , Philosophical Comfort (trans.), p. 98. You strict Extorters , that the Poor oppre , And wrong the Widdow and the Father-le . Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 3. extortion (eks-tôr's hon), n. [ extorcioun , extorcion, sion = Pr. extorsion , estorsio = Sp. extorsion = Pg . extorsão = It. est ors i one , storsione , torsio (n-), (ML.) extortio (n-), an extortion, extorquere , pp. extort us , extort: see extort . Cf. torsion.] 1. The act of extorting; the act or practice of wresting anything from a person by force, dure , menace, authority, or any undue exercise of power; oppre ive or illegal exaction, as of exce ive price, price, rent, or interest. Oppre ion and extortion did extinguish the greatne of that house. Sir J. Davies, State of Ireland. The Dover boatmen, whose extortions may boast the prescriptions of three centuries, carried off his portJ. S. Brewer, English Studies, p. 353. manteau. 2. In law, strictly, the crime of obtaining money or other property, or service, from another under color of public office, when none is due, or not so much is due, or before it is due. In some of the United States, however, a wider meaning is given to the word by statute.-3. That which is extorted; a gro overcharge: as, the price you paid was an extortion. 2096 uncommonly: as, this is done extra well; that is an extra high price. [Colloq.] People are so apt to fancy that if a man stands up for religion he must pose as a sort of extra good fellow, one who has le relish for pleasure and who is stronger against temptations than his neighbours are. Mivart, Nature and Thought, p. 238. extra-. [L. extrā , OL. extrad , adv. on the outside, without, conj. except, prep. outside of, without, beyond; abl. fem. (sc. parte) of exter, outside: see exterior. As a prefix, extra- occurs in cla ical L. only in extra ordinar i us , extraordinary; in LL. it occurs in three or four words; it is more common in ML., but most words with this prefix are of mod. formation.] A prefix of Latin origin, originally an adverb and preposition, meaning 'outside, beyond.' In Latin, and in modern formations on Latin analogies, it is especially used -(a) as a preposition in composition with a noun, the preposition with its object noun forming a unitary phrase to which is then attached an adjective termination, as in extraordinary (Latin extra ordinar i us), pertaining to or characterized by something beyond the usual order ( extra ordinem ); (b) as an adverb, in composition with a verb, as in extravagant . As a mere English prefix it is often a quasi adjective, and is often detached as an adjective proper. (See extra , a.) The compounds given below are chiefly of the first cla ( a ), of the type extra- + noun + adjective termination, as extra aliment - ary; as the second and third elements usually exist also as a simple adjective, the etymology is obvious, and is not usually inserted. extra-alimentary (eks trä-al-i-men'tā-ri), a. canal.