/bribe/definition

bribe

-) Noun.

-) Plural: bribes.

-) Pronunciation: braɪb.

-) Etymology: from Old French bribe (= piece of bread, esp. piece of bread given to a beggar, scrap). In modern French bribe is for “little quantity of anything”. There are some hypotheses about the cognateness of this bribe with the Spanish briba, bribón and the Italian birba, birbone, birbante, but the question is undecided.

-) 1. Obsolete acceptation: a thing stolen or robbed; theft, robbery; plunder. 

-) 2. A gift offered or promised unduly or subreptitiously to induce a person to act in the interest of the briber, as to neglect to do what the bribee is supposed to do in his office, duty or employment; what is given or promised (money or other valuable gift) on bribing a person; Hence, anything given or promised to induce a person to act against his will, his mood, his custom.

-) Translation: in Italian: sbruffo; Spanish: soborno; French: subornation.

-) Synonyms: tip; bung (slang); gratuity; grease (slang); payola (jocular); poultice (Australian slang); sling (Australian); back-hander (slang).

Beside resentment, I had another motive of my backwardness to agree to such a meeting; and this was --fear. I apprehended, and surely not without reason, that the annuity was rather meant as a bribe than a recompence.

Henry Fielding… Amelia 1751

The strictness of Peter's fidelity yielded to the persuasions of Ferdinand, though no bribe could tempt him to incur the resentment of the marquis, by permitting an escape.

Ann Radcliffe... A Sicilian Romance 1790

[He] by arts and bribes, prevailed on Sir Robert Clifford to betray his employers.

Dickens… A Child’s History

'Which of them can say for his honesty, what I can say for mine; which of them has refused a minister's bribe of one thousand pounds a year, to resign his seat in favour of another? Not one.'

Dickens… Barnaby Rudge

-) Words derivated from BRIBE: bribe (verb), bribable, bribeable, bribability, bribeability, briberess, bribed, bribee, briber, bribing, unbribable, unbribed, rebribe, bribery, bribe-taker, bribe-taking; bribe-free.