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mon·ey

(mŭnē)

n. pl. mon·eys or mon·ies

1. A medium that can be exchanged for goods and services and is used as a measure of their values on the market, including among its forms a commodity such as gold, an officially issued coin or note, or a deposit in a checking account or other readily liquefiable account.

2. The official currency, coins, and negotiable paper notes issued by a government.

3. Assets and property considered in terms of monetary value; wealth.

a. Pecuniary profit or loss: He made money on the sale of his properties.

b. One's salary; pay: It was a terrible job, but the money was good.

5. An amount of cash or credit: raised the money for the new playground.

6. often moneys, monies Sums of money, especially of a specified nature: state tax moneys; monies set aside for research and development.

7. A wealthy person, family, or group: to come from old money; to marry into money.

Idioms:

for (one's) money

According to one's opinion, choice, or preference: For my money, it's not worth the trouble.

in the money

1. Slang Rich; affluent.

2. Sports & Games Taking first, second, or third place in a contest on which a bet has been placed, such as a horserace.

on the money

Exact; precise.

put money on Sports & Games

To place a bet on.

put (one's) money where (one's) mouth is Slang

To live up to one's words; act according to one's own advice.

[Middle English moneie, from Old French, from Latin monēta, mint, coinage, from Monēta, epithet of Juno, temple of Juno of Rome where money was coined.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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