160. Finance

See also 131. DUES and PAYMENT ; 137. ECONOMICS ; 276. MONEY .

acceptance

1. the acknowledgment of a bill of exchange, in writing across the back, binding the acceptor to make payment.

2. the bill so endorsed.

actuary

a statistician of an insurance company who calculates risks and premiums.

agio

1. the exchange rate between the currencies of different nations.

2. the fee paid to effect an exchange of currency. See also agiotage.

agiotage

the business of trading or speculating in foreign exchange. Also called agio .

amortization, amortizement

the paying off of a debt in equal installments composed of gradually changing amounts of principal and interest.

annuity

an investment that bears a fixed return yearly, for a fixed period or for the life of the recipient.

bursary

the treasury, especially of a college. See also 240. LEARNING .

cambism

cambistry. —cambist , n.

cambist

1. a dealer in bills of exchange.

2. a handbook listing the exchange values of moneys and the weights and measures of many countries.

cambistry

the branch of economics that studies commercial exchange, especially international money values. Also cambism.

debenture

an interest-bearing bond, often issued by corporations, usually unsecured but sometimes with a preferred status over other obligations of the issuer.

delinquency

1. the condition of being in arrears in payment of a debt.

2. the condition of a debt when overdue. See also 239. LAW .

entrepreneurship

1. the state, quality, or condition of being an entrepreneur, an organizer or promoter of business ventures.

2. the duration of a person’s function as an entrepreneur.

fiduciary

one who holds in trust; a trustee or depositary. See also 392. THEOLOGY .

hypothecation

1. the process of pledging property as security for a debt.

2. a claim made against property so pledged. —hypothecator , n. —hypothecary , adj.

mortgage

1. the giving of property, usually real property, as security to a creditor for payment of a debt.

2. the deed pledging the security.

tontine

1. an annuity, or loan, based on a group of annuities that are shared among several people with the provision that as each person dies his share is spread among those remaining, and the entire amount accrues to the survivor of them all.

2. the members of the group collectively.

3. each member’s total share or annuity. —tontine , adj.

usury

1. the lending of money at excessive interest rates, especially rates above legal limits.

2. the excessive interest rate charged. —usurer , n. —usurious , adj.

Wall Streetese

language typical of that used on Wall Street and in the financial markets, characterized by use of technical financial terms and arcane stock-market jargon.

finance theory and practice of conducting large public and private dealings in money. Important institutions of private finance include those that deal with insurance , banking , stocks (see stock ), bonds, and other securities. With the development of the national state, public finance—the management of the revenues, expenditures, and debts of the state—has been of great political, as well as economic, importance. The most important source of government revenue is taxes, but sale of public properties and franchises, as well as the sale of interest-bearing bonds, also contribute. Since the Korean War, a large part of governmental expenditures has gone for various military and defense needs. Other important areas of governmental expenditure are health, education, and welfare (the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid programs); interest on the national debt; and public works. Important institutions of international finance are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Monetary Fund .

Bibliography: See D. Allen, Finance (1983); D. Swain, Managing Public Money (1987); L. Harris et al., ed., New Perspectives on the Financial System (1988); N. Gianaris, Contemporary Public Finance (1989).

266. Finance (See also Money.)

1. Bourse the Paris stock exchange. [Fr. Commerce: Misc.]
2. Dow Jones the best known of several U.S. indexes of movements in price on Wall Street. [Am. Hist.: Payton, 202]
3. Lombard Street London bankers’ row; named for 13th-century Italian moneylenders. [Br. Hist.: Plumb, 15]
4. Old Lady of Threadneedle Street nickname for the Bank of England. [Br. Culture: Misc.]
5. Praxidice goddess of commerce. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 88]
6. Rockefeller, John D(avison ) (1839–1937) multimillionaire oil tycoon and financier, [Am. Hist.: EB, VIII: 623]
7. Throgmorton Street location of Stock Exchange; by extension, financial world. [Br. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 1079]
8. Wall Street N.Y.C. financial district. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 530]

fi·nance / ˈfīnans; fəˈnans/ • n. the management of large amounts of money, esp. by governments or large companies. ∎  monetary support for an enterprise: housing finance. ∎  (finances) the monetary resources and affairs of a country, organization, or person. • v. [tr.] provide funding for (a person or enterprise): the city originally financed the project.

finance †end; †settlement, payment XIV; supply, stock; †tax, taxation XV; (pl.) pecuniary resources; management of (public) money XVIII. — (O)F. finance †end, †payment, money, f. finer make an end, settle, procure, f. -fin end, FINE1.
Hence financial XVIII. So financier XVII. — F.

finance •askance, expanse, finance, Hans, Hanse, manse, nance, Penzance, Romance •underpants • happenstance •advance, Afrikaans, à outrance, chance, dance, enhance, entrance, faience, France, glance, lance, mischance, outdance, perchance, prance, Provence, stance, trance •nuance • tap-dance • square dance •freelance • convenance •cense, commence, common sense, condense, dense, dispense, expense, fence, hence, Hortense, immense, offence (US offense), pence, prepense, pretence (US pretense), sense, spence, suspense, tense, thence, whence •ring-fence • recompense •frankincense •chintz, convince, evince, Linz, mince, Port-au-Prince, prince, quince, rinse, since, Vince, wince •province •bonce, ensconce, nonce, ponce, response, sconce •séance • pièce de résistance •announce, bounce, denounce, flounce, fluid ounce, jounce, mispronounce, ounce, pounce, pronounce, renounce, trounce •dunce, once