payment

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpeɪ.mənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English paiement, payement,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French paiement,^[2][4][3] 13th century, from paiier (“to pay”),^[2][3] the source of pay, with the suffix -ment.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of paying, the remuneration of someone with money: the 14th century in the OED and Merriam-Webster,^[6][7] the late 14th century in Etymonline, including the repayment of a debt and the amount due.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From the 14th century it was also used figuratively, of giving someone what they deserve, a requital, punishment or reward.^[6] A sum of money paid, pay, wages, price, is from about 1449,^[6] or the mid-15th century in Etymonline's account.^[2] In the 16th century, to run for good payment meant to be accepted as true, like good coin.^[6] In Lincolnshire dialect, payment meant damage or harm: “It will take no payment”.^[8]

Timeline

• 14th century – the act of paying.^[6][7]
• 14th century – figuratively, a requital.^[6]
• c. 1449 – a sum paid.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of paying, or the state of being paid.
2. An amount of money paid: monthly payments.
3. Something deserved; a reward or punishment, a requital.

Word family

• copayment
• down payment
• transfer payment
• stop payment

Related words

• pay
• repayment
• prepayment
• pacify
• peace

Usage notes

A separate payment, from 1778, is the coating of a ship's bottom with pitch or tar, from the verb pay “to smear with pitch”.^[6]

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online 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. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)