金融   Finance   Finance  

Many words related to finance and money come from French:
assez ('enough [to pay with]') → assets
bénéfice ('well done') → benefit ⇨ Bien: Well
baratin ('traffic', fraud, empty talk): barter (troc)
barguigner (to haggle) → to bargain (marchander)
courant ('running', in circulation) → currency ⇨ Courir: to Run
caisse ('box') → cash → caisson (caisson)
coupon ('cut off piece') → coupon ⇨ Coup: Strike
due ('owed') → due ⇨ Devoir: to Owe
échiquier ('chessboard-like [cloth covering the payment table]'): exchequer
état ('standing', state) → estate (biens, propriété)
fief (land held in feud) → fee
finance ('putting and end [to a debt]') → finance ⇨ Finir: to End
gain ('win') → gain
gratuité ('out of kindness', free) → gratuity
intérêt ('being amongst', importance, compensation) → interest
laisser ('to let') → lease
marché ('trading place') → market ⇨ Commerce: Trade
profit ('progress made') → profit
retailler ('to cut in small pieces') → retail ⇨ Tailler: to Cut
salaire ('[money given to soldiers to buy] salt'): salary
taxer ('to handle', to tax) → tax
trésorerie ('place to store up') → treasury


Since the first bankers were from Northern Italy, some words related to finance and money come from Italian (through French):
banco ([money-changer's] bench') → banque → bank
bancarotta ('broken bank') → banqueroute → bankruptcy
credito ('believed', trust) → crédit → credit ⇨ Croire: to Believe

⇦ ⇨

金融 Finance: Finance
倩 Devoir: to Owe
贸 Commerce: Trade
售 Vendre: to Sell
工 Å’uvre: Work
劳 Labeur: Toil
所 Bureau: Desk
富 Riche: Wealthy
值 Valeur: Worth

© Renaud Bouret