Etymology From Middle English bribe, from Old French briber (“go begging”), from the noun bribe (“a gift”).
1
Something (usually money) given in exchange for influence or as an inducement to breaking the law.
c. 1613-1625, Henry Hobart, Yardly v. Ellill Undue reward for anything against justice is a bribe.
The bribes I took did not influence me to become evil. I was evil from the beginning and the bribes were merely a bonus2024 June 17, @InternetHippo, Twitter, archived from the original on 29 Jun 2024:
2
The act of offering or paying such a payment: an act of bribery.
3
That which seduces; seduction; allurement.
Not the bribes of sordid wealth can seduce to leave these everblooming sweets.1744, Mark Akenside, The Pleasures of the Imagination:
Remy, this was a bribe! Our whole marriage has been nothing but a series of bribes!1974, George Fox, Mario Puzo, Earthquake:
Etymology From Middle English bribe, from Old French briber (“go begging”), from the noun bribe (“a gift”).
1
To give a bribe to; specifically, to ask a person to do something against their original will, in exchange for some type of reward or relief from potential trouble.
She was accused of trying to bribe the jury into making false statements.
October 23, 1848, Frederick William Robertson, an address delivered at the Opening of The Working Men's Institute Neither is he worthy who bribes a man to vote against his conscience.