Question of the Day #133

"High-living North Carolina ‘prosperity gospel’ pastor indicted for bilking church in massive tax fraud scam"

上記の文で、bilk の意味は？
In the sentence above, what does "bilk" mean?

答えは、コメントに書いてください。
Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
I will add the answer and other remarks here tomorrow.

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解答

意味： 英辞郎によると、


1. （人）をだます
2. 〔人から金などを〕だまし取る
3. 〔希望などを〕くじく、挫折させる
4. 〔追求などを〕逃れる、かわす

ということなので、この場合は、２番目が適訳でしょう。

Answer

According to Merriam-Webster:

to cheat out of something valuable

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

1650年ごろ、当初はトランプ遊びのcribbageで「相手の得点を邪魔する」として使用された。「人を騙す」としての使い方は、1670年代から。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

1650s, from or along with the noun (1630s), first used as a cribbage term; as a verb, "to spoil (someone's) score." Meaning "to defraud" is first recorded 1670s.

Examples

• bilking investors out of their life savings
• The lawsuit alleged that Danone used these claims to bilk consumers out of more than $100 million.
• Con artists routinely hack into accounts to impersonate people and bilk money from strangers.
• He bilked clients out of tens of millions of dollars.
• ‘some businesses bilk thousands of dollars from unsuspecting elderly consumers’