cash English · revision 1866

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1593|origins=la capsa}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kæʃ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|casse|t=money box]] or its source [[it|cassa|t=box, money box]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)^(Weekley 1921) from [[la|capsa|t=box, chest]] (see [[case]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Klein 1966) Barnhart instead derives it from [[frm|caisse]], from [[pro|caissa]], from [[la-vul|*capsea]], from [[m|la|capsa]].^(Barnhart 1995) Random House and Hendrickson treat it as a back-formation from ''[[cashier]]''.^(RHWU)^(Hendrickson 2008) It is unrelated to the Asian coin called ''cash'' ([[pt|caixa]], from [[ta|காசு|tr=kācu|t=small coin]]), though each influenced the other's spelling.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Yule & Burnell 1903)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A box for money, a till (1595 in the OED; 1590s in Etymonline); money in hand is recorded nearly as early.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Like other financial terms such as ''bankrupt'', the word came through Italian.^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921) It first meant the money box, but by the 18th century the secondary sense, the money in it, had become the only one.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) In banking and commerce it came to mean ready money in coin or notes as opposed to credit or cheques (1599).^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) The verb, to give or obtain cash for a cheque or note, dates from 1811.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In poker, ''cash in'' meant to settle up one's chips (1888), and hence to die (1884, also ''cash in one's chips'');^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) the figurative ''cash in on'', to profit from, followed in 1904.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) Compounds include ''cash-book'' (1622),^(Barnhart 1995) ''cash crop'' (1831), ''cash register'' (1875 in Etymonline, 1879 in Barnhart) and ''cash flow'' (1954).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1593 – first record (Barnhart, Merriam-Webster).^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1595 – a money box (OED).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1596 – money, ready coin.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1622 – ''cash-book''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1811 – as a verb, to convert into cash.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1831 – ''cash crop''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1884 – ''cash in'', to die.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1904 – ''cash in on'', to profit from.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1954 – ''cash flow''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[money|alt=Money]] in the form of [[coin]]s or banknotes.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Immediate payment for goods or services, as opposed to [[credit]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(informal)'' Money; wealth.^(SOED 2002)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' A box for money; a till.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To exchange a [[cheque]], bond or the like for money.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(bridge)'' To lead and win a trick with the highest remaining card of a suit.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''cash in'': To convert into money or settle accounts, or ''(slang)'' to die.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)^(GDoS)

+ # ''cash in on'': To profit from; to take advantage of.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cashless]]

+ * [[cashable]]

+ * [[cashability]]

+ * [[cashableness]]

+ * [[cashbox]]

+ * [[cashpoint]]

+ * [[encash]]

+ * [[noncash]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[case]]

+ * [[cashier]]

+ * [[capsule]]

+ * [[chassis]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}