interest

interest
\ \ [15] The Latin verb interesse meant literally ‘be between’ (it was a compound of interbetween’ and essebe’). It was used metaphorically for ‘be of concern, be important, matter’, and appears to have been borrowed into Anglo-Norman as a noun, meaning ‘what one has a legal concern in or share of’. English took this over in the 14th century as interesse, but it gradually changed over the next hundred years or so into interest, mainly due to the influence of Old French interestdamage’, which came from the third person present singular form of the Latin verb. The main modern sense ‘curiosity’ developed towards the end of the 18th century.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • interest — in·ter·est / in trəst; in tə rəst, ˌrest/ n [probably alteration of earlier interesse, from Anglo French, from Medieval Latin, from Latin, to be between, make a difference, concern, from inter between, among + esse to be] 1: a right, title, claim …   Law dictionary

  • interest — INTEREST. s. m. Ce qui importe, ce qui convient en quelque maniere que ce soit, ou à l honneur, ou à l utilité, ou à la satisfaction de quelqu un. Interest public, general, commun. interest de famille. interest particulier. interest d honneur.… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Interest — In ter*est, n. [OF. interest, F. int[ e]r[^e]t, fr. L. interest it interests, is of interest, fr. interesse to be between, to be difference, to be importance; inter between + esse to be; cf. LL. interesse usury. See {Essence}.] [1913 Webster] 1.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Interest —     Interest     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Interest     Notion of interest     Interest is a value exacted or promised over and above the restitution of a borrowed capital.     ♦ Moratory interest, that is interest due as an indemnity or a… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • interest — Interest, Versura, B. Prendre à interest, Versuram facere, B. ex Cic. Argent prins à interest, ou perte de finance, Circunforaneum aes. Tu y as interest, Ad te attinent, et tua refert. Il n y a point d interest, Non interest quid faciat morbum,… …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • interest — [in′trist, in′trəst, in′tər ist; ] also, esp. for v. [, in′tər est΄, in′trest΄] n. [ME interesse < ML usury, compensation (in L, to be between, be different, interest < inter , between + esse, to be: see IS1): altered, infl. by OFr interest …   English World dictionary

  • Interest — In ter*est, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Interested}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Interesting}.] [From interess d, p. p. of the older form interess, fr. F. int[ e]resser, L. interesse. See {Interest}, n.] [1913 Webster] 1. To engage the attention of; to awaken… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • interest — [n1] attraction, curiosity absorption, activity, affection, attentiveness, care, case, concern, concernment, consequence, diversion, engrossment, enthusiasm, excitement, game, hobby, importance, interestedness, into, leisure activity, matter,… …   New thesaurus

  • interest — ► NOUN 1) the state of wanting to know about something or someone. 2) the quality of exciting curiosity or holding the attention. 3) a subject about which one is concerned or enthusiastic. 4) money paid for the use of money lent. 5) a person s… …   English terms dictionary

  • Interest —   Interest is the charge or cost for using money; expressed as a rate per period, usually one year, called interest rate.   The reward for making funds available to a third party over a period of time, usually pre arranged …   International financial encyclopaedia

  • interest — is now normally pronounced in trist or in trest, with the first e unpronounced. The same applies to the derivative words interested, interesting, etc …   Modern English usage

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