Financing

How to spell financing

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce financing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does financing mean?

1. nounThe provision of money or funds, especially for a business, purchase, or project.
2. verbThe act of supplying the money needed to pay for something.

Financing in a sentence

• noun

  The developer secured financing for the new apartment block.

• verb

  The bank is financing the entire construction phase of the hospital.

• noun

  The dealership offers low-interest financing on most models.

• verb

  The couple are financing the renovation with a home equity loan.

Where does financing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin finis, which literally meant 'end' or 'boundary' and, in legal and commercial use, came to mean a settlement or the final payment that closes a debt. From finis Old French formed finer, 'to pay a ransom or settle a debt', and the related noun finance, meaning a payment that ends an obligation. English took finance over in the late Middle Ages, and over time the sense widened from 'settling a debt' to the whole business of managing money. The present participle financing, the act of supplying funds for something, grew naturally from the verb to finance. The same finis root sits inside familiar relatives such as 'finish', 'final', and 'fine' (the penalty), all of which share the idea of bringing something to a close, and that single 'n' and the 'c' pronounced as an 's' are the points where writers most often slip.

How the word is built

• finance (from Latin finis: end, settlement)
• -ing (noun/verb suffix)