Etymology

ransomware

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Today it means: Malware that holds the data of a computer user for ransom, usually requiring or claiming to require payment to restore access. Full definition →

English softwarebf. ← Middle English ware ← Old English waru
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The story

  1. Latinredemptiō
  2. Old Frenchraençon
  3. Middle Englishraunsoun
  4. Englishransom
  5. Proto-West Germanic*samft(ī)
  6. Old Englishsōfte
  7. Middle Englishsofte
  8. Englishsoft
  9. Proto-Germanic*warō
  10. Proto-West Germanic*waru
  11. Old Englishwaru
  12. Middle Englishware
  13. Englishsoftwarebf.
  14. English todayransomware

From ransom + -ware.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.