"usurer, merciless creditor," 1786, from Jewish money-lender character in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" (c.1596).
The merciless moneylender in The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare. He demands a pound of flesh from the title character of the play after the merchant defaults on his debt.
Note: Shylock is a Jew, and there has long been controversy over whether Shakespeare's portrayal of Shylock contributes to prejudice against Jews. Shylock is a cruel miser and eventually is heavily fined and disgraced, but he maintains his dignity. At one point in the play, he makes a famous, eloquent assertion that his desire for revenge is the same desire that a Christian would feel in his place. “I am a Jew,” says Shylock. “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?”
: that were into them for shylock money and couldn't make the payments (1980s+)
nounA usurer; loan shark, shy: In Toronto and Hamilton both, loan sharks (''shylocks'') appeared in the gambling clubs (1786+)
verb: the shylocking that went with it as hot dogs go with baseball/ numbers games, shylocking, and other illegal operations (1930+)
[fr the character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice]