entry
finance
/faɪˈnæns/Management of money, assets, and financial resources
From Latin fin (End).
from Latin fīnis. Original English sense that appeared c. 1400 was “ending”. The sense of “ending or satisfying a debt”...
from Old French finance "end, ending; pardon, remission; payment, expense; settlement of a debt" (13c.), noun of action
from Middle English finaunce, fynaunce
from Old French finance "end, ending; pardon, remission; payment, expense; settlement of a debt" (13c.), noun of action
Word Ancestry
from Latin fīnis. Original English sense that appeared c. 1400 was “ending”. The sense of “ending or satisfying a debt”...
from Old French finance "end, ending; pardon, remission; payment, expense; settlement of a debt" (13c.), noun of action
from Middle English finaunce, fynaunce
from Old French finance "end, ending; pardon, remission; payment, expense; settlement of a debt" (13c.), noun of action
A medieval debt did not truly disappear until it reached its fin—the end of the matter. In Old French, finance therefore meant not investment portfolios but the payment, fine, or ransom that brought an obligation to a close. English borrowed finaunce around 1400, then gradually steered it through “ransom” in the mid-1400s and “taxation” in the late 1400s. Only around 1770 did finance acquire its modern sense of managing money, giving Wall Street a word whose oldest image is simply a debt finally being settled. And despite the tempting spelling, this fin is unrelated to the Germanic fin on a fish; the financial word is a linguistic “finish line.”
The Story
A medieval debt did not truly disappear until it reached its fin—the end of the matter. In Old French, finance therefore meant not investment portfolios but the payment, fine, or ransom that brought an obligation to a close. English borrowed finaunce around 1400, then gradually steered it through “ransom” in the mid-1400s and “taxation” in the late 1400s. Only around 1770 did finance acquire its modern sense of managing money, giving Wall Street a word whose oldest image is simply a debt finally being settled. And despite the tempting spelling, this fin is unrelated to the Germanic fin on a fish; the financial word is a linguistic “finish line.”
Modern Usage
A crude slang term for an attractive buttocks, based on a pun with “fine ass”
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entry using “finances” as a euphemistic pun for “fine ass”
Kin & Kindred
From 'fin'·End, settlement, completion of an obligation
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary