by Kevin Burton
Tax day is not our favorite day. But we mark it today with a list of financial words from Merriam-Webster.
Capital
The first known use of the word capital is in early Middle English, in which it was used as an adjective meaning “of or relating to the head.” It is derived from the Latin adjective capitalis, of the same meaning, which is based on the Latin name for “head,” caput. The word was originally used to indicate something affecting the head, as in “a capital bruise” or “a capital wound.”
Injuries to the head can be serious and even fatal; by extension, capital came to describe people or things threatening the loss of life—for example, a capital enemy. Such deadly uses of capital have since died away except in describing crimes, like murder, that are punishable by death or the punishment, as the loss of one’s head, inflicted for such crimes. The other familiar “head” sense of capital refers to a letter standing at the head of a page, passage, or line, and it was also in currency about the same time.
In Latin, capitalis also meant “chief” or “principal.” That meaning was adopted into English in the 15th century to describe things of importance, such as a city, district, manor, or monastery. Nowadays, the noun capital is commonly used in reference to principal cities. Both the French and Italians adopted capitalis with this sense in the form capitale. Their word eventually came to refer to an essential stock of goods used to enter into business.
This financial word worked its way into English in the 16th century from either French or Italian. In time, capital gained more worth with additional meanings, including “accumulated goods to produce other goods” and “accumulated possessions calculated to bring in income.”
Budget
Budget goes back to 15th-century England, where it was first a word for a pouch or bundle, and then for the contents of such a pouch. The Romans formed the Latin noun bulga, denoting a leather bag or knapsack, and this noun became bouge when it was taken into Middle French. The French diminutive form of the word, bougette, was also being used for a small bag. English borrowed the word as bowgette in the 15th century and by the early 17th century had settled on the spelling budget. At the time, the word was used for a leather pouch or wallet and for a leather or skin bottle.
In the 16th century, budget had also acquired the sense “a supply or stock,” as in “a budget of contradictions” or “a budget of knowledge.” The most common use of this sense was in referring to “a budget of news,” such as one might receive in a long newsy letter or from a long-absent relative.
Because of its news associations, budget was eventually employed in the names of news periodicals in both the U.S. and Great Britain—for example, the publication The Pall Mall Budget, a now-defunct British weekly magazine.
The financial sense of budget is first attested in the 18th century, when it was used for a statement of the financial position of a government for the ensuing year based on estimates of expenditures and revenues. Such a budget was prepared by the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the approval of the House of Commons.
By the 1850s, budget began being used in a nongovernmental sense and more generally for a financial account of a family or individual. From this developed the sense of “the money available, required, or assigned to a particular purpose.”
Check
Chess is an ancient game, so it’s not surprising that the word check was used in chess before banking. However, it should be noted that the game of chess did ultimately influence the development of the banking sense of the word.
The etymology of check begins with the Persian word shāh, meaning literally “king.” When the king in a game of chess was in danger, Persian players would say “shah” as a warning to their opponent. Anglo-French players of the game adopted the call as eschec, which entered Middle English as chek.
Today, check is applied in a variety of senses having to do with stops, restraints, and hindrances—all of which evolved from the notion of checking the king in chess. One such use refers to something that is used for verifying accuracy, authenticity, correctness, etc., like the check (ticket) you receive when you check baggage.
Originally, the check used in banking referred to such a device: a counterfoil, or detachable stub, of a money order that is retained by the issuer as verification of a transaction. Check was first applied to the counterfoil in the early 18th century and then to the bank draft—the written order directing a bank to pay money as instructed.
Underwrite
Underwriting goes back to the 14th century, when the word underwrite simply meant “to write under or at the end of something.” For instance, in arithmetic a smaller number might be underwritten a larger one or a signature might be underwritten the terms of an agreement. It is through this act that early insurance underwriters got their name—that is, they wrote their names under insurance policies for the purpose of becoming answerable for a loss or damage.
The practice of insurance underwriting goes back to the 17th century.
At first, underwriters undertook only marine insurance, and they would write their names under the proposals for insurance brought to them by ship owners, importers, exporters, and the like, indicating the percentage of risk they would assume. Today, underwriters will insure against practically anything, even against the risk of an audience member dying of laughter.
Friday: more on-the-money word histories from Merriam-Webster.
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