Then and Now, Money Talks

Rob Kyff
Tue, 30 Dec 2025 23:00:00 -0800
Lifestyle

Some words are on the money. When the word "farm" entered English during the 1200s, for instance, it had more to do with moola than moo.

Derived from the Medieval Latin "firma," it originally referred to a firm and reliable annual payment, such as the rent paid for a tract of land. Back then, "to farm" meant "to collect rent on a piece of land," and a "farmer" was a rent collector. But during the 1500s, "farm" came to mean the tract of land itself.

And on that farm, there were some "cattle," which is another financial term that turned agricultural.
Updated: Wed Dec 31, 2025

Some words are on the money. When the word "farm" entered English during the 1200s, for instance, it had more to do with moola than moo.

Derived from the Medieval Latin "firma," it originally referred to a firm and reliable annual payment, such as the rent paid for a tract of land. Back then, "to farm" meant "to collect rent on a piece of land," and a "farmer" was a rent collector. But during the 1500s, "farm" came to mean the tract of land itself.

And on that farm, there were some "cattle," which is another financial term that turned agricultural.

Derived from the same root as "capital" and "chattel," "cattle" originally meant "property, wealth." Eventually, the definition of "cattle" narrowed to "movable property," then to "any form of livestock," and finally to "cows and bulls."

Another monetary term that expanded well beyond its financial meaning is "tribute." Originally, this word referred to a tax paid to a superior or a payment from one nation in submission to another.

During the "XYZ Affair" in 1797, when French diplomats demanded that the United States pay a "tribute" (a bribe and a loan) just to begin peace negotiations, they weren't asking to be honored at the Oscars.

Needless to say, the U.S. refused. As the New York Daily News might have put it, "U.S. TO FRENCH: DROP DEAD." Actually, Americans responded with a considerably more eloquent slogan: "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!"

Eventually, "tribute" expanded in meaning to denote a non-monetary expression of gratitude or praise.

But just as some words have lost their original connection with money, some non-financial words have acquired funding along the way.

"Thrift," for instance, which is derived from "thriving," originally denoted "a general condition of doing well." But it soon took on a pecuniary connotation, meaning "prosperity, good financial fortune."

Eventually, the meaning of "thrift" shifted from "a state of financial prosperity" to one method used to acquire it: "frugality.

Likewise, "refund," from the Latin "refundere," originally meant to pour back a liquid.

A book published in 1674, for instance, wrote of persuading "the thirsty earth to refund the water she has suckt into her veins." (Which, in my opinion, would only lead to a big flood, but, hey, what do I know?)

Eventually, "refund" grew legs, crawled up the beach and evolved into a dry-land financial term. Now, a refund is something that helps to keep our financial state ABOVE water, not in it.