Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner to extort money or property extorted to secure their release, or to the sum of money involved. Holding people for ransom has occurred throughout history. In 78 BC, pirates of modern-day Turkey captured
Julius Caesar and held him on Pharmacusa until someone paid a fee for him. It also refers to demanding concessions from a person or organization by threatening damaging action.
When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French
rançon from Latin
redemptio = "buying back": compare "
redemption".
In Christianity, ransom is the shed blood of
Jesus Christ, which made deliverance from
sin and death possible for the offspring of
Adam.
In computing lore the
ransom note effect occurs when a document uses too many
fonts.
In the popular imagination, ransom notes (i.e. letters sent by the captors to those who they expect to pay up) are constructed from letters cut from
newspapers to stop anyone from recognising the handwriting of the extortionist.
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bail, a legal amount of money paid to assure that a prisoner can be released and appear in court
