Etymologically
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discount

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈdɪs.kaʊnt/ (noun), /dɪˈskaʊnt/ (verb)[1]

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from French descompte (modern décompte), altered under the influence of English dis- and count,[2][3][4] from Old French descont, from desconter (“to count out, reckon off”),[2][4] from Medieval Latin discomputāre, from dis- (“away”) and computāre (“to reckon”) (see compute).[3][4] The commercial senses were probably influenced by Italian (di)scontare.[5][6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

An abatement or deduction from an amount: 1622 in the OED, Barnhart and MWU.[8][2][4]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to reckon as a deduction, is from 1629, formerly also spelled discompt.[8][2][3] The commercial noun, a deduction for prompt payment, is from 1690 (the 1680s in Etymonline), and the deduction made when a bill of exchange is bought before it falls due from 1683.[8][3][2] At a discount, below par, is from 1701.[8] To believe only part of a story, to leave out of account, is from the early 1700s, 1702 in Etymonline.[2][3] A reduction in the price of goods is attested by 1837.[3]

Timeline

  • 1622 – an abatement.[8]
  • 1629 – the verb, to deduct.[8]
  • 1683 – discounting bills.[8]
  • 1701 – at a discount.[8]
  • 1702 – to disregard.[3]
  • 1837 – a price reduction.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A reduction in the usual price of something.
  2. A deduction from the amount of a bill or debt, for example for prompt payment.

Verb

  1. To consider something unimportant or unlikely, and leave it out of account.
  2. To take an amount off the price of something.
  3. To buy or sell a bill of exchange at a reduction before it falls due.

Word family

  • discountable
  • discounter
  • nondiscount
  • overdiscount
  • prediscount
  • undiscountable
  • rediscount
  • trade discount

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press