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Ransom   /rˈænsəm/   Listen
noun
Ransom  n.  
1.
The release of a captive, or of captured property, by payment of a consideration; redemption; as, prisoners hopeless of ransom.
2.
The money or price paid for the redemption of a prisoner, or for goods captured by an enemy; payment for freedom from restraint, penalty, or forfeit. "Thy ransom paid, which man from death redeems." "His captivity in Austria, and the heavy ransom he paid for his liberty."
3.
(O. Eng. Law) A sum paid for the pardon of some great offense and the discharge of the offender; also, a fine paid in lieu of corporal punishment.
Ransom bill (Law), a war contract, valid by the law of nations, for the ransom of property captured at sea and its safe conduct into port.



verb
Ransom  v. t.  (past & past part. ransomed; pres. part. ransoming)  
1.
To redeem from captivity, servitude, punishment, or forfeit, by paying a price; to buy out of servitude or penalty; to rescue; to deliver; as, to ransom prisoners from an enemy.
2.
To exact a ransom for, or a payment on. (R.) "Such lands as he had rule of he ransomed them so grievously, and would tax the men two or three times in a year."






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Ransom" Quotes from Famous Books



... she lifted the cover off one of the dishes, and the prince saw that there lay on it a knife and an axe. He understood then that the host meant to ask him by this what kind of death he preferred to die, unless he was willing to ransom his life with his money. He then summoned the host, gave him a large sum for his own life, and paid the dead man's debt as well, besides paying him for burying the body, which the murderer now promised ...
— The Pink Fairy Book • Various

... hold him up to ransom," said Raffles, "at the top of this ruddy tower, until he pays through both nostrils for the ...
— Mr. Justice Raffles • E. W. Hornung

... block he fixed so that he could take it out and put it in at will. After that, for weeks, he spent all his midnights in his magnificent mine, inspecting it in security, gloating over its marvels at his leisure, and always slipping back to his obscure lodgings before dawn, with a duke's ransom under his cloak. He did not need to grab, haphazard, and run—there was no hurry. He could make deliberate and well-considered selections; he could consult his esthetic tastes. One comprehends how undisturbed he was, and how safe from any danger of ...
— Innocents abroad • Mark Twain

... were kept prisoners John, King of France, and David, King of Scots, over whom Edward triumphed at one and the same time: it was by their advice, struck with the advantage of its situation, and with the sums paid for their ransom, that by degrees this castle stretched to such magnificence, as to appear no longer a fortress, but a town of proper extent, and inexpugnable to any human force. This particular part of the castle ...
— Travels in England and Fragmenta Regalia • Paul Hentzner and Sir Robert Naunton

... and it amused him; but when they began to laugh heartily and putting their tongues at him, as if he had been a monkey in a cage, and overwhelmed him with insults, he first of all grew angry, and then humble, offering to pay well for his ransom, and he implored them to let him out, and tried to escape like a mouse does out of a trap. They, however, did not appear to hear him, but naively bowed to him ceremoniously, wished him good night, and ran out as fast ...
— The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Volume III (of 8) • Guy de Maupassant


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