interest

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈɪn.trəst/, US /ˈɪn.trɪst/^[1]

Etymology

It is a Middle English alteration of earlier interesse,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman interesse, from Medieval Latin interesse (“compensation for loss; interest on money”),^[2][5] from Latin interesse (“to be between; to concern, be of importance”),^[6][7] from inter- (“between”) and esse (“to be”).^[6][8] The final -t came partly as a parasitic sound and partly from interest (“damage, loss”),^[8][4][9] itself a noun use of Latin interest (“it concerns, it makes a difference”).^[6][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

A legal claim or right, a concern: about 1425,^[2] or the mid-15th century.^[6] The earlier form interesse is recorded about 1390, in Chaucer's Fortune.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The first sense was a legal right or share, and an advantage or benefit.^[6][10] A relation of being affected for good or ill is from before 1533,^[11] and a thing in which one has a concern from 1618.^[11] Money paid for the use of money lent is recorded from 1545;^[10][12] Etymonline explains that Medieval Latin interesse was the compensation due from a debtor who defaulted, which allowed lenders to get round the Church's ban on usury.^[6] The feeling of curiosity or concern about something is from the 18th century.^[8] The verb “to cause to be interested” is from 1608,^[3][11] earlier interesse (1560s).^[6] Hoad notes that the history of the word is not clear in every detail.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1390 – interesse, concern (Chaucer).^[2]
• c. 1425 – interest, a legal claim.^[2]
• 1545 – money paid on a loan.^[10][12]
• 1608 – verb, to involve.^[3][11]
• 1618 – a thing that concerns one.^[11]
• 18th century – curiosity or concern.^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A feeling of curiosity about or attention to something; something that arouses it.
2. Advantage or benefit; self-interest.
3. A right, claim or legal share in something; a stake in a business.
4. A group with a common concern: business interests.
5. A charge for borrowed money, generally a percentage of the amount borrowed.

Verb

1. To arouse the curiosity or hold the attention of.
2. To cause to become involved or concerned.

Word family

• overinterest
• self-interest
• uninterest
• reinterest
• interested
• interesting
• conflict of interest
• interest group

Related words

• essence
• entity
• usury

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 Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)