reimbursement

Etymology

It is formed from English reimburse + -ment,^[2][3] perhaps after French remboursement, recorded in Middle French before 1430;^[2] Merriam-Webster takes it as probably borrowed from the French word.^[4] reimburse combines re- (“back”) with the now archaic imburse (“to pay, enrich”), recorded from the 1530s,^[3][2] perhaps after rembourser or Italian rimborsare.^[2] imburse is from French embourser, from Old French em- (“in”) and borser (“to get money”), from borse (“purse”), from Medieval Latin bursa, the source of purse.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The repaying of a sum of money: 1591, in the records of the Convention of Royal Burghs of Scotland, the same year as the verb reimburse.^[2] Etymonline dates the noun to the 1610s.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed close to the original: the act of paying back money that someone has spent or lost, or an instance of it.^[2][4] Johnson (1755) defined it as reparation or repayment.^[5] The verb was also used figuratively for refunding or disgorging, from 1725 to 1849.^[2]

Timeline

• 1591 – repayment of money spent or lost.^[2] Etymonline dates the noun to the 1610s.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of repaying money that someone has spent or lost: Staff can claim reimbursement for travel costs.^[4][2]
2. A sum paid back in this way.^[2][4]

Word family

• nonreimbursement

Related words

• reimburse
• imburse
• disbursement
• purse
• bursar

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.