Where does “interest” come from?
Interest comes from Old French interesse, derived from French intérêt, from Latin interesse meaning "to be between or matter," composed of inter "between" and sum "to be," with sum tracing to Proto-Indo-European h₁ésmi "to be."
interest (English): The price paid for obtaining, or price received...
Definitions
- The price paid for obtaining, or price received...
Ancestry of “interest”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | interest | — |
| 2 | French | intérêt | interest; point |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | interesse | present active infinitive of intersum; to... |
| 4 | Latin | interesse | present active infinitive of intersum; to... |
| 5 | Latin | esse | present infinitive of sum; state, condition;... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | οὐσία | that which is one's own, one's substance,... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | εἰμί | To be, exist; live; To be; it is possible |
| 8 | Proto-Hellenic | ehmi | to be |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ésmi | first-person singular present indicative of... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ēs- | — |
Words derived from “interest”