Question of the Day #206

"RNC just got caught paying hush money to Trump’s former bodyguard"
From the headline of this article at Washington Press.

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


口止め料

Answer

According to Oxford Dictionaries:

Money paid to someone to prevent them from disclosing embarrassing or discreditable information.

Etymology/語源

Online Etymology Dictionaryによると、

「沈黙を守ってもらうために支払う賄賂」という意味のhush moneyは、1709年から。

According to Online Etymology Dictionary:

Hush-money "bribe paid to ensure silence" is attested from 1709. 

Examples

• ‘he used it as hush money for his mistress’
• The Church would “deal with the families in as limited way as possible, andpay them hush money.”
• He wants “more than a handout, a payoff, hush money, or a reluctantbribe.”
• The employee described it as a kind of hush money, making staffersdisinclined to question dubious company practices.
• She claimed that the politician had offered her hush money to keep their child a secret.