Etymology
From Middle English finaunce, from Anglo-Norman, Middle French finance, from finer (to pay ransom) (whence also English fine (to pay a penalty)), from fin (end), from Latin fīnis.
Original English sense c. 1400 was “ending.” Sense of “ending/satisfying a debt” came from French influence: in sense of “ransom” mid fifteenth century, in sense of “taxation” late fifteenth century. In sense of “manage money” first recorded 1770.
Noun
finance (countable and uncountable, plural finances)
- The management of money and other assets.
- The science of management of money and other assets.
- Monetary resources, especially those of a public entity or a company.
- The provision of a loan, payment installment terms, or similar arrangement, to enable a customer to purchase an item without paying the full amount straight away.
Derived terms
- climate finance
- decentralized finance
- financial (adjective)
- financially (adverb)
Related terms
- financier
Verb
finance (third-person singular simple present finances, present participle financing, simple past and past participle financed)
- (intransitive) To conduct, or procure money for, financial operations; manage finances.
- (transitive) To manage financially; be financier for; provide or obtain funding for a transaction or undertaking.
- His parents financed his college education.
Derived terms
- refinance
- underfinance
Credits
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