payola

[pey-oh-luh]

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noun Informal.

a secret or private payment in return for the promotion of a product, service, etc., through the abuse of one's position, influence, or facilities.

Origin of payola

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40; pay¹ + -ola

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for payola

graft, payoff, bribery

British Dictionary definitions for payola

payola

noun informal, mainly US

a bribe given to secure special treatment, esp to a disc jockey to promote a commercial product

the practice of paying or receiving such bribes

Word Origin for payola

C20: from pay 1 + -ola, as in Pianola

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for payola

"graft" (especially to disc jockeys from record companies to play their music), 1938 (in a "Variety" headline), from pay off "bribery" (underworld slang from 1930) + ending from Victrola, etc. (see pianola). Cf. also plugola (1959), from plug (n.) in the advertising sense.