Etymologically
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refund

Etymology and origin of the English word refund

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
before 1425
Borrowed from
Old French refunder via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (fundō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: noun /ˈriː.fʌnd/; verb /ˌriːˈfʌnd/, /rɪˈfʌnd/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English refunden, borrowed from Old French refunder (“to restore”) and directly Latin refundō (“to pour back, give back, restore”),[2][3][4][5] from re- (“back”) and fundō (“to pour”) (see found),[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *gheu- (“to pour”).[3] In later use it was associated with fund.[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To pour back: 1386 in the OED, a citation that Barnhart could not find in the MED.[7][2] To transmit influence or restore: probably before 1425, in a translation of Higden's Polychronicon.[2]

Semantic evolution

To give back or restore is from 1432–50,[7] and to hand back or repay money from 1553.[2][7] To reimburse a person is from 1736.[7] The noun, a repayment, is from 1782 in Etymonline, 1866 in Barnhart and the OED.[3][2][7]

Timeline

  • 1386 – to pour back.[7]
  • before 1425 – to restore.[2]
  • 1553 – to repay money.[2][7]
  • 1736 – to reimburse a person.[7]
  • 1782 – a refund (noun).[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To give back money; to repay.
  2. To reimburse a person.

Noun

  1. A repayment of money.
  2. The amount repaid.

Word family

  • refundable
  • refunder
  • refundment
  • refundability
  • unrefunded
  • unrefunding

Usage notes

Refund, to fund a debt again (1860, in Worcester's Dictionary), is a separate formation from re- and fund.[2][7][5]

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 g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Refund.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/refund. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·