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profitn. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French profit. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman profit, profite, profet, profict, proufitt, pruffit, etc. (also pourfit , purfit , etc.) and Old French, Middle French profit, proufit, etc. (also porfit , pourfit , etc.; French profit ) advantage (first half of the 12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), revenue, income (a1174 in Old French) < classical Latin prōfectus progress, success, profit, in post-classical Latin also moral progress (4th cent.), advantage, benefit, interest (8th cent.) < prōfect- , past participial stem of prōficere to advance (see proficient adj.) + -tus, suffix forming nouns from verbs.With β. forms in -ȝ- , -gh- compare similar variation at perfect adj. (see Forms 1 at that entry). The γ. forms apparently show influence by or confusion with prophet n., although compare also discussion of ph spellings for f in words not of Greek origin at P n. The ε. forms (as also Anglo-Norman profict ) show assimilation to (or in some cases perhaps borrowing from) classical Latin profectus . With the form perfyght , and with forms in per- at profit v., compare discussion at pro- prefix1; N.E.D. (1908) also records a form perfit. 1. the world > action or operation > advantage > [noun] a1325 (2011) vii. 48 Ant ȝif a seoz..þat hit be profit þat te assise..ben debuted ant aiurned into þe benche, gode leue habben hit for to don. c1330 (?c1300) (Auch.) (1898) 60 (MED) [I]..preie þe..Þat þu wole..Make me a god sarmoun And don hit write in lesczoun: Þat were..to my soule a gret profyt. c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham (1902) 144 Ȝef hy [sc. angels] hade be mad parfyȝt, We nedde y-haued ryȝt no profyȝt Ine heuene a-boue. c1410 tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 153 I have ȝitte out all my patrimonye into ȝoure prophetes [?a1475 anon. tr. to youre utilite; L. in commoda vestra]. 1439 in F. B. Bickley (1900) II. 157 He schal pay ij s., that is to sey, xij d. to the commune profite. 1481 W. Caxton tr. i. iii. 10 He doth it more for his owen prouffyt than he doth it for other. 1535 1 Macc. x. 20 Yt thou mayest considre what is for oure profit. 1553 T. Wilson i. f. 16v Where I spake of profite..vnder the same is comprehended the gettyng of gaine, and the eschewyng of harme. 1603 R. Knolles 337 He..kept no league, promise, or oath, longer than stood with his profit or pleasure. 1649 xiv. 138 Profit is the Compasse, by which Factious men steere their course in all seditious Commotions. 1709 J. Addison No. 100. ⁋6 Posts of Honour, Dignity, and Profit. 1778 J. Wesley 18 Oct. (1931) VI. 326 I find more profit in sermons on either good temper or good works than in what are vulgarly called gospel sermons. 1821 J. Bentham 183 The learned gentleman..of whose learning we have already made our profit. 1873 R. Browning iv. 233 This power you hold for profit of myself And all the world at need. 1901 R. Kipling iv. 83 He came by a bazar-rumour and made profit of it. 1943 46 159 He [sc. Nietzsche] rootled about in the subsoil of the modern mind to the profit of few things so much as the Christian Faith. 1992 2 Jan. 17/1 They are non-statutory..and concerned about community profit, not financial profit. the world > action or operation > advantage > [noun] > an advantage, benefit, or favourable circumstance a1616 W. Shakespeare (1622) iii. iii. 384 I thanke you for this profit . View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) i. iv. 60 A man..who..Doth rebate, and blunt his naturall edge With profits of the minde. View more context for this quotation †2. the world > action or operation > advantage > [noun] > resulting from something 1340 (1866) 99 (MED) Þe worþ and þe profit of þise bene is zuo grat þet he beloukþ ine ssorte wordes al þet me may wylny of herte. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Rom. iii. 1 What profyt [L. utilitas] of circumcisioun? ?c1425 Crafte Nombrynge in R. Steele (1922) 10 (MED) Þe profet of þis craft is whenne þou hasse taken þe lasse nomber out of þe more to telle what þere leues ouer þat. 1495 (de Worde) iv. ix Bothe for nede and for perfyght [L. utilitatem]. a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) ix. 36 What profet has he to doe swa many illes? 1535 Prov. iii. B The gettinge of it is better then eny marchaundise of syluer, & the profit of it is better then golde. 1611 M. Smith in Transl. Pref. 1 He had not seene any profit to come by any Synode. 1629 T. Hobbes tr. Thucydides iii. 170 Both iustice and profit of reuenge..can neuer possibly bee found together in the same thing. 1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville 142 Its Wood is..fit for no Use,..so that it is a Tree of no Kind of Profit. 1789 J. Bentham xvi. §16 The profit of an offence is a lot of pleasure. the world > action or operation > advantage > [noun] > resulting from something > instance of a1382 (Bodl. 959) (1965) Ecclus. xi. 17 Þe ȝyuyng of god abideþ stille to riȝtwis men, & þe profitis [L. profectus] of it welsum after-comyngis shul han in to withoute ende. c1450 (Harl. 6580) (1933) 50 (MED) O deth..be-gynnynge of reste! Who may be-thynke the profites [L. utilitates] of thyne blessede-hedes? 1502 tr. (de Worde) v. vii. sig. ssivv Twelue other prouffytes the whiche comen of good werkes done in mortall synne. 1543 B. Traheron tr. J. de Vigo i. i. f. 1/1 In the whych Anatomie the vtilities and profectes of the same are declared. society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > [noun] a1382 (Bodl. 959) Judges xvii. 8 Pilgrymagyn he wolde where euere he fond profit [L. commodum] to hym. a1449 in S. A. Moore (1871) ii. 91 The amerciamentes issuys and proffits therof comyng. a1500 tr. A. Chartier (Rawl.) (1974) 46 (MED) Ministers of God..leve the seruice of God..but the profightes thei witholde to themself. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane f. cclxxxvj The Duke of Saxon..shal kepe still the town and Castel, of Gothe, with al the profite. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden i. 366 The fines, perquisites, amercements, and other profites growing out of the trialls of such causes. 1661 in J. D. Marwick (1881) II. 461 To Charles M'Clean, jylour [£20]..for his extraordinarie paines in attending the tolbuith..having got no profeit therby. 1710 E. Freke Diary 8 Sept. in (1912) 18 94 The tithes & prophitts belong to the Church and Rectory. 1788 76 The Sheriff was the King's Farmer, and was to account for the issues and profits of his bailiwick at Easter and Michaelmas. 1806 W. Cruise VI. 355 The limitation to F. M. to enjoy and take the profits during his life, and after his decease, to the heirs male of his body. 1831 R. Peters 5 418 In the case of tenants in common, perception of rents and profits is, per se, no evidence of ouster. 1863 H. J. Stephen (ed. 5) III. 17 Such canons..[have] a prebend, or fixed portion of the rents and profits of the cathedral or collegiate church for their maintenance. 1884 25 341 The Bishop..was commanded to sequester the fruits and profits of the rectory..until he should have levied the sum of 2285.13s,4d. 1955 G. Grigson 122 One widow of the family which still owns the wood, and still lives in the manor-house below, had the profits of the Box as her jointure. 1978 M. Girouard iv. 83 In the mid sixteenth century the profits of the Duke of Somerset's steward..enabled him to build his great house at Longleat and launch his family on the way to a marquisate. the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > progress towards completeness or perfection the world > action or operation > continuing > progress, advance, or further continuance > [noun] > to a further or higher stage > in skill or knowledge c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Macc. iv. 13 This was not bygynnyng, bot sum encresyng and profit [Latin profectus] of heithen and alien lijf. ?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac (Paris) (1971) 1 The resoun of þis..gadryng togedre was noght defaute of bookes, but raþer onhede and profit [?a1425 N.Y. Acad. Med. profette; Latin profectus]. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) i. i. 6 My brother Iaques he keepes at schoole, and report speakes goldenly of his profit . View more context for this quotation society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > profit > [noun] c1395 G. Chaucer 1601 Pay anon..Twelf pens to me, and I wol thee acqutye..My maister hath the profit [v.rr. prophet, prophete] and nat I. a1500 (1870) 116 Mane, sel thi corne..For mesurabyl vynnynge profet and awale. 1588 T. Kyd tr. T. Tasso f. 25 Exchaunge that doth multiply or accumulat infinite and excessiue profits. 1604 in J. Stuart (1848) II. 256 The soume of ane hundreth merkis..borrowit..be the toune..and to pay..the soume of four pundis, for the proffitt of the said soume for the half-yeir past. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil 53 Nor is the Profit small, the Peasant makes; Who smooths with Harrows, or who pounds with Rakes The crumbling Clods. View more context for this quotation 1764 R. Burn 194 The profits of any work that may be done in said hospitals to be also added to the revenue of the said hospitals. 1776 A. Smith I. i. vi. 63 The revenue..derived from stock, by the person who manages or employs it, is called profit . View more context for this quotation 1845 R. Ford I. i. 24 Nobody would be an innkeeper if it were not for the profit. 1893 95 5/2 His profits diminished at the rate of 60 per cent. 1925 B. Baruch in 12 July 7/4 Take the profits out of war and you will assist the movement to end war before war ends us. 1967 A. Djoleto i. 6 He's probably trying to sell trumpets to the angels by now at a smart profit. 1999 Jan. 24/2 The use of copyrighted material in public usually means someone is making a profit..by using the talents of others. Phrasesthe world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > chance [verb (intransitive)] > come about by chance the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > chance [phrase] > it befalls or happens c1475 (?c1400) J. Wyclif (1871) III. 431 (MED) It falleþ profyte to summe men to be bounde to a stake. a1420 in J. Robertson (1862) IV. 182 That our said lord the governour hes gevin to..the Earll of Mar the profitis cumand of the landis of Badenach [etc.]..ay till the tyme that thay may be sett to profitt. c1485 ( G. Hay (2005) 75 And alssua, yat thai & thaire forebearis has..gouernyt defendit, and labourit thai landis, and put to prouffit, jn lufe law, & leautee. 1565 in J. H. Burton (1877) 1st Ser. I. 391 The remanent of hir barnis nocht put to proffeit as yit, to the nowmer of four dochteris and ane sone. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta vi. xv. 463 The Indians tilled and put to profite the Inguas lands. 1646 B. Gerbier sig. B The State puts to profit in those benches of loane (kept by the Magistrat) all such Stock of money, as the State thinkes fit to employ. 1761 tr. I. ii. 158 Every thing which enters into commerce, that is to say, which may be put to profit in society, may be given for a portion. 1840 F. M. Trollope xxi. 229 It should never check our efforts to put to profit the means of happiness he has granted to us here. 1867 Apr. 74/1 I am much obliged for your information,..and will try and put it to profit. 1916 28 Feb. 13/3 They are able by imperceptible signs to detect..a weakness that it is necessary to put to profit without delay. 1962 D. H. Ewen 34 She decided to put to profit an activity which had been merely a diversion—songwriting. 1993 P. Weyland viii. 211 In quite different ways their labour force has been very flexibly put to profit by a variety of forces. P3. a. society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > other types of accounts 1553 J. Peele iv. sig. Bi In the other parcell, make profite and losse debitor for the losse. 1588 H. Oldcastle & J. Mellis sig. Eviij Of the famous accompt called profite or losse, or otherwise Lucrum or Damnum, and how to order it in the Leager. 1638 L. Roberts viii. 37 Thereby [sc. by measures] as by weights many commutations are regulated..and profit and losse is also thereby found out and distinguished. 1678 J. Vernon 205 You must credit Cash for the Principal Mony that went out there; and you must credit Profit and Loss for the Interest Mony that is mentioned. a1690 S. Jeake (1701) iv. iii. 582 This answereth to..the Second of the five Principals in a Geometrical Progression, and agreeth with the first Theorem, and is sometime called the Profit or Loss. 1776 A. Smith I. i. x. 133 The ordinary balance of profit and loss is not more advantageous in this than in other common trades by which so many people make fortunes. View more context for this quotation 1816 J. Austen I. iv. 65 He will be a completely gross, vulgar farmer—totally inattentive to appearances, and thinking of nothing but profit and loss . View more context for this quotation 1891 T. Hardy III. lvi. 240 She was too deeply materialized..by her long and enforced bondage to that arithmetical demon Profit-and-Loss, to retain much curiosity for its own sake. 1913 R. J. Porters 330 Any loss sustained through obsolescence is charged to Profit and Loss. 1958 J. Wain xi. 226 ‘In reality they're subject to the same laws as business problems.’ ‘Profit and loss, you mean?’ 1999 12 Nov. b4/6 Line-officer jobs, those with profit and loss responsibility that very often propel one into a top executive spot, remain dominated by men. b. society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > other types of accounts 1622 G. de Malynes 372 Your profit is 63ll 11ss, of this you make your Factor Debitor, and the account of Profit and Losse Creditor.] 1721 (South-Sea Company) 11 To Profit and Loss Account... 1261[l]. 1799 G. Rennie 183 The information..was merely given to shew the general system of keeping cows..and not as the result of a profit and loss account. 1840 W. G. Simms II. vii. 112 A large addition to the sum total on the off side of the profit and loss account. 1882 R. Bithell (1893) 244 If the Profit and Loss Account shews a nett gain the balance is placed on the Cr. side of Capital Account. 1923 44 113 If a profit and loss account is to show a correct view of a trader's or manufacturer's affairs, it should include the bank charges and allowances. 1991 Sept. 4/2 Some companies have been charging to the profit and loss account only the coupon rate of interest on such convertible bonds. 1588 in J. D. Marwick (1882) IV. 520 Money [to be] gotten vpoun proffeitt for making thair charges. 1602 in J. Stuart (1848) II. 234 The sowme of ane hundreth merkis to be..vpliftit vpon proffitt be the thesaurer. 1784 J. Woodforde 15 Oct. (1926) II. 157 Ben went..to buy me a Cow, now in her full profit, but could not. 1840 Aug. 102/1 She has had the epidemic, and is now recovered, and in full profit, but not equal to last year. 1843 2 Oct. 8/6 (advt.) The valuable Stock will comprise..eight fine-framed cows in calf and in profit, [etc.]. 1886 R. E. G. Cole 113 She'll not come into profit while next month. 1919 26 Feb. 2/5 (advt.) 2 Jersey cows, coming in profit soon. 1953 2 Jan. 4/1 (advt.) 130 attested Jerseys viz., 120 cows and heifers (chiefly in or near profit) and 10 bulls. Compounds C1. With first element in singular form. a. (a) General attributive. 1925 W. F. Foster & W. Catchings i. 5 We live in a profit economy: our entire economic order is based on the production of goods for sale at a money profit. 1997 21 690 Many Americans also have difficulty puzzling through..Indian modern-day fishing practices in a profit economy (as opposed to a barter system). 1780 A. Young (Dublin ed.) II. i. 19 If long leases, at low rents, and profit incomes given, would have improved it, Ireland had long ago been a garden. 1856 29 Nov. 5/1 (advt.) Letting to weekly tenants..shows a profit income of £112 a year. 1903 13 Nov. 2/1 Germany also has a large profit-income, though on a much smaller scale than ours. 1991 43 184 Workers save only .01 of their wage and profit income. 1915 3 Jan. 43/3 (advt.) How to operate a mail order business: 39 big profit plans and year's mailing service sent. 1999 R. J. Thierauf vi. 210 An annual profit plan is an integral part of corporation-wide strategic planning. 1876 24 Nov. 7/6 The mining profit statement for the year showed receipts amounting to £360,172. 1933 43 262 The Act..has no provisions concerning the manner in which the profit statement shall be drawn up. 1991 Sept. 14/2 The consequence is that the profit statement is de-coupled from the balance sheet. (b) Objective. 1869 15 Dec. 10/2 They were not to be taken up by the new company, as they were not profit-bearing. 1918 W. S. Churchill Let. 10 Sept. in M. Gilbert (1975) IV. vii. 145 The lives they have saved and the prisoners they have taken have made these 18,000 men the most profit-bearing we have in the army. 1999 D. della Porta & A. Vannucci vii. 214 Political rents introduce heavy distortions in the market process, since..productive investments become comparatively less profit-bearing. 1938 15 Feb. 2/3 Stock market leaders edged ahead today but profit cashing..reduced to fractions many gains of around a point or more. 1971 14 May 4/5 With the advent of the latest monetary crisis, Walston & Co. was surprised at the ‘modest amounts of profit cashing’ which came into the stockmarket. 1878 11 July 7/1 Notwithstanding this decrease in the profit-earning resources of the bank..the dividend is maintained. 1960 19 Jan. 120/2 If my bank hadn't been willing to play I'd never have got this farm on to a profit-earning basis. 2001 A. Godley vi. 108 The higher profits there should have attracted many more immigrants out of wage-earning occupations and into profit-earning ones. 1943 9 548 Entrepreneurs anticipate an accompanying fall in profit-generating expenditures. 2000 15 June b11 (advt.) Change your 3G focus from just access to profit-generating personal services and mobile commerce. 1891 W. Morris xvii. 133 They [sc. workmen's associations] soon became the mouthpiece and intermediary of the whole of the working classes; and the manufacturing profit-grinders now found themselves powerless. 1853 12 July 1/4 The aged blood of Europe, thrust over to America, by the impulse of profit-hunting. 1931 J. A. Williamson (ed. 2) 57 Unrestricted profit-hunting [was] allied to a pacifism that scoffed at the love of country and pride of race natural to decent citizens. 2002 R. Hernández v. 167 In the process of mechanization, automatization, computarization, and profit hunting, hardly anyone is free from the threat of being sent to the unemployment pool. society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [noun] > profit-making 1856 19 141 This is the economy of your present profit-making commerce. 1867 Sept. 173 Exploitation, or profit making, has often been likened to slavery. 1923 S. Webb & B. Webb v. 85 Profit-making became increasingly subject to malignant growths and perverted metabolisms. 1940 18 Dec. 14/6 (advt.) Wholesale merchant..provides excellent profit-making lines for prudent shopkeepers. 2002 29 Apr. 25/2 Profit-making in Afghanistan? Ah, if only. 1951 41 447 Two theories are developed, one in which the entrepreneur is a profit-maximizer. 2000 A. Dawson & P. Downward ii. 14 In the perfectly competitive model it is assumed that all of the firms in an industry are profit maximisers. society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [noun] > profit-seeking 1930 44 416 Element of technological compulsion vs. element of profit-maximizing variability. 1968 4 Apr. 437/2 So much for constraints of profit-maximising. 1991 M. Keen (IFS Working Paper W91/5) 14 Their profit-maximising decisions lead to an equalisation of post-tax returns across jurisdictions. 2001 R. P. F. Holt & S. Pressman 44 Making all the conventional neoclassical assumptions of profit maximizing, perfect competition, [etc.]..Harberger showed that a profits tax must fall on the earnings of firms. 1845 W. J. Linton 14 Note how the profit-monger Caters for those who can work no longer! 1902 10 Sept. 4/3 Is there any reason why the municipality should not itself organise its industries, so that it could supply almost every public want without the intervention of the profit-monger? 1991 S. J. Gould xii. 183 Ignorance has always prospered, serving the purposes of demagogues and profitmongers. 1846 14 Feb. 4/2 Non-producing, hired labor-forcing, wages-reducing and profit-mongering capitalists. 1884 W. Morris in 17 May 2/2 Ugliness is but a part of the bestial waste of the whole system of profit-mongering, which refuses cultivation and refinement to the workers. 1951 J. W. Allen ii. iii. 153 Waste and mere profit-mongering should have been eliminated. 1997 (Nexis) 6 Mar. 3 c Medical decision-making is the realm of the physician, not the profit-mongering insurance companies. 1885 22 Aug. 2/4 The principle of reciprocity by means of free exchange of equivalent for equivalent would succeed the governmental system of competition, profit-mongery and commerce. 1896 S. E. Keeble (1907) 79 At first he was distrusted by the workpeople, who credited him only with an eye to profit-mongery. 1934 7 271 The problem of budgetary control from the point of view of profit planning. 1964 E. C. D. Evans (title) Profit planning and the measurement of return on capital employed. 1996 28 July e5/1 Profit planning, labor relations, and marketing are just a few of the skills that are required. 1908 at Profit sb. Profit-pooling. 1942 4 Nov. 2/3 Studies of concentration of industry have inclined the prices board toward the British system of profit pooling. 2000 82 26/1 Profit pooling and joint liability promote mutual monitoring and self-enforced action against moral hazard. 1896 26 May 4/2 The lamb cannot be but a profit producer..when liberally fed. 1930 3 143 A's president had not been a profit-producer. 1995 R. K. Z. Heck et al. in R. K. Z. Heck et al. viii. 255 Small businesses are net job creators, profit producers, and key innovators. society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [noun] > profit-seeking 1599 S. Daniel Musophilus in sig. A Other delights then these, other desires This wiser profit-seeking age requires. ?c1650 tr. ‘Tobias’ xxxi. 113 The self Seekers, with their profit-seeking and greediness. 1660 S. Fisher iv. 42 Profit-seeking Prophets and Pastors, that for pay have made a prey of his people. 1863 Metrop. Record 6 June in 106 As for the north, its commercial and profit-seeking people will be among the first in the effort to obliterate the past. 1898 H. D. Lloyd xxxiv. 504 Limited now by the intervention of the selfishness of profit-seeking, it needs only to be freed from this. 1949 I. Deutscher ii. 27 The evils of modern profit-seeking industrialism. 1998 K. Otsuka et al. i. i. 5 In order to make profit-seeking a useful principle to guide enterprise behaviour, market prices must be determined in accordance with supply and demand forces. 1906 6 Nov. 13/2 The slackening of business caused hasty realizations by professional profit-snatchers. 1957 24 Apr. 19/2 Greatest profit snatcher and production hazard in the livestock business is poor diet. 1808 J. Bentham 15 A forced increase to the multitude of profit-yielding suits. 1898 27 Jan. 6/4 In the early days, a Colony was regarded as a profit-yielding settlement. 1941 M. Gordon xix. 142 The only profit-yielding producers in Russia were forbidden to sell or buy their own products. 1996 50 192 The large landowners here cultivate these as profit-yielding commercial crops. (c) Instrumental, etc. society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [adjective] > profit-motivated > looking for ample return 1928 R. W. Dunn in J. B. S. Hardman xix. 225 A driving program of amalgamation..would reveal the true nature of profit-conscious uplift. 1990 R. Izhar iii. xxi. 329 Management can reduce the amount of slack..by adopting a profit-conscious style. 1972 June 366/3 Profit-consciously,..the company will normally supply the crawler only as part of its contract inspection service. 1890 14 Dec. 19/6 We are content with a meager profit compared with profit-hungry houses. 1920 28 212 The power of profit-hungry and politically backed concession hunters to bring the seemingly impossible to pass. 1991 Aug. 61 Informing for profit seemed to some the solution to such deficiencies, and the sabbath ordinance of 1644 sought to co-opt the profit-hungry. society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [adjective] > connected with profit 1965 12 Dec. 9/6 Another momentous question is whether personal initiative and profit linked incentives can be meaningfully emphasized without leading to private ownership of the means of production. 1990 100 2 This amount was divided into the two components: base wage and profit-linked pay. the mind > will > motivation > [adjective] > motivated > specific society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [adjective] > profit-motivated 1921 29 347 Without claiming any particular virtue for a profit-motivated society..the reviewer has suggested that the emphasis of the book is wrong. 1994 P. S. Grogan in D. G. Levine & A. C. Upton iii. 32 Many of the projects that profit-motivated developers consider least attractive..are often the most important to community renewal. 1681 T. D'Urfey xiii. 15 Who would on favour ere depend, when there is..no man that's profit proof, nor woman true. 1975 17 Feb. a7/1 If the farm is sold to a builder, the taxes would then be paid at market value, but..the bill..is windfall and profit proof. 1949 M. J. Levy in M. J. Levy & K.-H. Shih i. ii. 11 Even the strictly administrative and profit oriented activities have become so complex that specialist training in these spheres is necessary. 1996 4 Feb. (Appointments section) 9/2 (advt.) Reporting to The Board and profit oriented, you will be expected to double the sales..within three years. b. society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [noun] > place where money acquired readily 1955 28 87 The trend toward decentralization, with its multiplicity of internal ‘profit centers’, has given rise to the thorny problem of setting prices for transactions within a company. 1962 6 Feb. 18/6 Each profit centre will be responsible for one clearly defined aspect of the company's activities. 2002 Sept. 51/1 Their profit centers include grass-finished beef, organic vegetables, potted perennials, 4-inch potted herbs, cut flowers, and winter growing in unheated hoop houses. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > basketball > [noun] > foul 1952 15 Jan. 17/3 Veteran Coach Murray Greason..criticized today what he termed widespread use of the ‘profit foul’ in basketball. 1969 3 Mar. iii. 5/4 We could afford to give them the one foul shot, as the pros do with their deliberate profit fouls. 1975 29 Mar. 29/1 The ‘profit foul’ rule has been part of the international rules used in the Olympic Games for years. society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > profit > [noun] > limit below which sales no longer viable 1868 T. F. Cronise 282 Many tons..have sold at rates that left a good profit margin, after paying the cost of extraction and the great expense of freight. 1926 III. 225/2 The fixing of maximum prices, and in some cases of profit margins at each stage of production and distribution. 1991 4 263 In most instances, the profit margins were so small that those women who undertook these specific enterprises were in near desperate circumstances. society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > profit > [noun] > profit as motive 1916 31 286 It appears extremely doubtful that the profit motive as such has been the fundamental spur to improvement in public-utility or other enterprises. 1996 W. Hutton (rev. ed.) i. 24 Capitalism requires the profit motive and a go-getting individualism if it is to function. 1961 16 90 As borrowing..increases, the disutility of further borrowing comes..into equality with the profit-related positive utility of further borrowing. 1986 (Nexis) 15 May One of the most serious..reasons for profitsharing or profit-related pay..is that it legitimates the interest of the workforce in management decisions. 1990 8 Mar. (Appointments section) E/3 (advt.) This appointment..offers an excellent benefits package including a substantial profit related bonus. 2000 11 Feb. 24/3 The practice pays market-rate salaries and offers a range of benefits such as profit-related pay and pensions. 1755 ‘Country Gentleman’ 17 A regular Rent-rool of..the Rents paid, the Rents they set for, his profit Rents, [etc.]. 1800 M. Edgeworth 70 Jason set the land as soon as his lease was sealed to under-tenants, to make the rent, and got two hundred a year profit rent. 1891 Jan. 341/1 A multitude of middlemen who make profit rents out of subletting their property. 1921 10 Mar. 4/6 The landlord, by reason of his having agreed to pay the rates, actually receives a profit rent of less than the rateable value. 1996 J. Ratcliffe & M. Stubbs xiii. 298 The developer then aims to sublet the property, preferably at a rent in excess of that paid to the investor, thereby creating an immediate profit rent. society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > profit > [noun] > profit to be shared > sharing of profit > one who 1886 1 63 The amount of profits distributed..was in excess of $40,000, and the profit-sharers were about one hundred men. 1892 Sept. 122/2 Of all the American profit sharers, Mr. Nelson comes nearest to the standard set by Leclaire. 1925 13 Nov. 13/6 Sir Ernest Petter deprecates profit sharing... Perhaps the experience of an actual large-scale profit-sharer may be appropriate. 1948 23 Dec. 16/1 The profit-sharer escapes taxation until he draws his share from the trust. 1989 42 454 Days lost due to strikes were 50 per cent fewer among the profit-sharers in their sample of engineering firms. society > occupation and work > business affairs > management methods or systems > [noun] > profit-sharing society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > profit > [noun] > profit to be shared > sharing of profit 1872 A. P. Peabody 10 The laboring people..have small confidence in the efficacy of profit-sharing. 1892 Sept. 122/1 There are now one hundred cases at least of profit sharing houses in this country. 1920 M. Beer II. iv. xiv. 292 Profit-sharing and Industrial Co-partnership schemes have been re-examined. 1949 Oct. 11/2 Far from being the predatory capitalist, he offers himself as the profit-sharing employer. 1991 10 Jan. 58/1 (advt.) Both companies offer attractive salaries and benefits including..health care and profit sharing. society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > profit > [noun] > smaller return due to rising costs 1908 2 Sept. 11/2 The labor grind and profit squeeze in a large factory. 1942 10 Oct. 3/5 Hundreds of lines..have been disappearing from wholesale and retail shelves because of a profit squeeze. 1994 28 Nov. a 1/1 The profit squeeze is driving some smaller outplacement specialists out of business. society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > dealer in stocks and shares > type of society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [noun] > profit-making > one who makes profit 1552 R. Huloet Profite taker. 1850 19 Oct. 83/2 The loss of intermediate profit-takers would also cheapen produce. 1908 31 Aug. 13/1 Fresh buyers finally prevailed against the profit-takers. 1994 17 May c14/3 In Taipei, shares rose slightly, after profit-takers knocked down early gains. society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > specific operations or arrangements 1891 29 June 11/3 Profit-taking by ‘bears’ caused some recovery later on. 1932 22 70 As..paper profits of traders grow there is a tendency for the withdrawals of funds to be encouraged by profit taking. 1999 26 Sept. (Financial section) 13/2 At 88½p, the shares are fully valued for now and I recommend profit taking. 1956 27 Oct. 12/2 Most industrial shares lost ground with Courtaulds dropping another 6d. to 33s. on the board's profit warning. 2002 3 Oct. 10/1 A second profit warning from the second largest UK travel operator..smashed the shares. C2. With first element in plural form. the mind > will > motivation > [noun] > motive > commercial 1920 30 284 Commercialization is the increasing subjection of any calling or function to the profits motive. 1974 7 Aug. 83/8 Pressures are mounting to mix the profits motive with ideologies that can be classified under the umbrella of ‘social responsibility’. society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > types of tax > [noun] > tax on businesses 1903 14 Mar. 7/1 The Colonial Treasurer and the Chamber of Mines have effected a settlement regarding the gold profits tax. 1938 38 The Chancellor..was urged from many quarters to withdraw the profits tax and meet his requirements from a further increase in the income tax. 1990 R. Izhar ii. xiii. 217 Corporation tax of £4,200 is to be provided. (Hong Kong candidates read as Profits Tax.) 1955 17 Nov. 16/2 British Motor Corporation eased to 9s. 7½d. x.d. on the chairman's profits warning. 2004 30 Mar. 28/1 Mr Brown was fined £45,000 for failing to issue a profits warning when he knew the performance of his media company had declined. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). profitv. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly formed within English, by conversion. Partly a borrowing from French. Etymons: profit n.; French profiter. Etymology: Partly < profit n., and partly < Anglo-Norman and Middle French profiter, etc. (French profiter ) to prosper, to succeed in one's enterprises (first half of the 12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), to give a material or moral advantage (to someone) (c1170 in Old French), to be of use (late 12th cent.), to be profitable (1213), to increase (c1260), to make use or take advantage (of something) (a1288), to make progress, to better oneself (1298) < profit profit n. Compare Italian profittare (a1320).In the Middle English forms profetye (from Devon) and profiti (in the Ayenbite of Inwit) apparently by assimilation to the reflexes of verbs of Old English weak Class II (compare -y suffix2). I. Senses relating to benefit, advantage, or gain. 1. Of a thing. Frequently with it as subject. the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial to [verb (transitive)] c1330 (Auch.) (1933) 1037 (MED) He slow his neueu and brent his boke; Miȝt hit him ani þing profite? a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng (Harl.) 146 (MED) Þey ȝeue vs grace ryȝt so to deme, Vs to profyt and god to queme. 1509 S. Hawes (1845) xi. 45 It shall hym prouffyt yf he wyll apply To doo therafter ful conveniently. 1526 Matt. xvi. 26 Whatt shall hit proffet a man [1382 Wyclif, what profitith it to a man], yf he shulde wyn all the whoole worlde: so he loose hys owne soule? 1605 T. Tymme tr. J. Du Chesne i. xiii. 62 [They] doe consist and are profited by these three beginnings. a1771 T. Gray Agrippina in (1775) 128 'Twill profit you, And please the stripling. 1859 C. Darwin xi. 351 The variability of each species..will be taken advantage of by natural selection, only so far as it profits the individual in its complex struggle for life. 1892 R. Kipling & W. Balestier xviii. 211 Now we are come to our Kingdom..Little it profits us. 1921 G. Bradford 10 Dec. (1934) 93 Those of us who understand and care for them would not lose the personal records of men's souls for any consideration, and it certainly profits us to read them. 1943 3 Mar. 4/7 It is difficult to see how the whole series of operations, which began so promisingly for the enemy, can have profited him in the end. 1992 13 July 8/1 The loss by the right and center-right did not profit the ultra-right. the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial [verb (intransitive)] 1340 (1866) 90 (MED) Zaynte paul..ous heþ hyer ynemned þe meste gentile guodes þet..mest were ywoned to by worþ and profiti. a1400 (a1325) (Fairf. 14) 13919 (MED) Gode is to wirke euerilk day Þinge þat prophetis to þe lay. ?a1450 tr. Macer (Stockh.) (1949) 78 (MED) Oile of violet..to þe hede..profiteþ what-so-euere ache it holdiþ. c1450 (c1350) (Bodl.) (1929) 280 (MED) Hit profiteþ nouht to preche of oure dedus. 1486 Blasyng of Armys sig. f viij v, in Yet shall thai [sc. rules] profecte for thys sciens gretly. a1500 Let. Alexander l. 165 in (1979) 41 125 What, forsoth, profiteth it to dwel or abide in suche a thursti place? 1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in 523 They profit alike to al men. 1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Moffett Theater of Insects in (rev. ed.) 1119 But for nauseating that ariseth from worms, and gnawing of the stomach, a grain of salt held in the mouth, and melted and swallowed down, profits wonderfully. 1667 J. Milton viii. 571 Oft times nothing profits more Then self-esteem, grounded on just and right Well manag'd. View more context for this quotation 1842 Ld. Tennyson Ulysses in (new ed.) II. 88 It little profits that an idle king,..I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race. 1904 H. Black ii. 58 Bodily exercise does profit for some things. 1993 P. Anderson (1994) 387 You can fashion yet another colony on Mars or on a moon or asteroid,..but what shall it profit? 2. the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial [verb (intransitive)] > derive benefit 1340 (1866) 70 (MED) Huo þet wel him studedeþ ine þise boc, he myȝte moche profiti and lyerny. c1475 (?c1400) (1842) 59 (MED) Þe sacrament of presthed..is not only ȝeuen for hem silf but for oþer, and þerfor is nede it be tane wiþ verrey hart and clene concience..not only þat men prest, or be boun, but þat þey prophet. 1509 J. Fisher (de Worde) sig. Aiii Thynges..of weyght & substaunce wherin she myghte prouffyte she wolde not let for ony payne or laboure to take vppon hande. 1608 J. Panke sig. B2v I would not heape vp al I could saie at once, but sparse and let them fall here some and there some, the better to profit. 1671 J. Sharp v. i. 231 You shall profit more in two daies with it [sc. vervain] than in two weeks without it. 1700 W. Congreve ii. i. 31 I think she has profited. 1838 J. R. Planché ii. 24 I'm apt to talk before you, for I never considered you any body, and you may have profited. 1890 W. Allingham ix. 90 Denis meanwhile profited, and crept From less to more. a1921 A. Teixeira de Mattos tr. J. H. Fabre (1991) xxiv. 190 Preferring broccoli to wild radish, they profit where we have profited. 1953 7 Oct. 52/3 The carpet industry is profiting nicely with inventories in good shape. 2002 A. Sebold xiii. 157 In one way he profited—she would often sneak him an extra cookie or a softer sit-upon. the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial to [verb (transitive)] > benefit from c1475 tr. C. de Pisan (Cambr.) (1977) 122 (MED) The childyrn of Romayns profyted..by good examples that was shewed theim by the olde auncientes. 1526 W. Bonde Pref. sig. Aiii I beseche all them specially that shall profet by this worke to pray for me. 1578 T. Timme tr. J. Calvin 132 He profited nothing with his outrage. 1676 J. Dryden ii. 28 You might have found a mercenary Son, To profit of the Battels he had won. 1753 J. Hanway II. Ded. p. vi We seldom profit by writings that do not afford amusement. 1796 C. Burney I. 389 If it is not too late for him to profit from the information. 1813 J. Austen I. xviii. 225 Pardon me for neglecting to profit by your advice. View more context for this quotation 1847 E. Brontë I. x. 224 Both master, and servants profiting from the perpetual sunshine. 1871 G. Meredith III. ix. 130 He was prompt in an emergency, and quick to profit of a crisis. 1936 G. Greene in 13 Nov. 851/2 A notorious Mexican bandit..has brought his band so that they may profit by a lesson in American methods. 1957 Dr. B. Spock (Cardinal ed., rev.) 133 Nutrition studies have shown that babies profit by meats during the first year. 2004 (National ed.) 15 Aug. iii. 7/4 Other Global executives also profited handsomely from a wave of stock sales. 3. Of a person. the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial [verb (intransitive)] > specifically of a person c1350 (Harl. 874) (1961) 139 Ȝee shullen knowen hem..by her werkes, after þat þai prophiten in gode [Fr. profitent..en bien]. a1425 (?a1400) (Harl. 674) (1944) 129 (MED) I wolde haue profitid vnto þee at my simple kunnyng. a1500 (a1470) (BL Add. 10099) 511 (MED) Iohannes..profited moche to þe reformacion of þat ordre. 1533 T. Elyot Pref. I mought profyte to them whiche..wolde..reade it. the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial to [verb (transitive)] > specifically of a person a1400 (a1325) (Trin. Cambr.) 5417 (MED) His lord he profited erly and late. 1556 R. Record 138 A manne not onlye of greate learning, but also of as great honesty in seekinge to profite all men by his trauaill. 1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo (1586) ii. 66 b Hee bent himselfe rather to profite those which should reade him, than to delight them. the world > action or operation > advantage > [verb (reflexive)] 1553 T. Wilson iii. f. 101 By the losse of time, no man hath profited him selfe any thing at all. a1648 Ld. Herbert (1649) 570 His Courtiers (especially those who had profited themselves of Abbeys) did divert him. 1710 D. Manley I. 118 Having subdu'd her Heart, he wou'd have basely profited himself of the Conquest, by triumphing over her Vertue. 1847 W. Marston iv. iii. 61 He who forgets his woe Profits himself. 1958 4 Aug. 6/4 There was a three-day debate,..which any American would profit himself by reading. 1578–9 in D. Masson (1880) 1st Ser. III. 109 To lawbour and proffeit the ground. †II. Senses relating to progress or improvement. the world > action or operation > continuing > progress, advance, or further continuance > progress or advance in an action [verb (intransitive)] > make progress or advance (of action or operation) the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > advance, progress, or develop [verb (intransitive)] > advance or make progress 1340 (1866) 95 Godes zone, þet is, þe zoþe zonne.., deþ ham wexe an heȝ and profite. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke ii. 52 Jhesu profitide in wysdom, age, and grace. a1400 tr. R. Rolle Oleum Effusum (Harl.) in C. Horstmann (1895) I. 191 Þo more I profet [v.r. profette] in þo luf of Ihesu, þe swetter I fand it. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine 431/1 Prouffytyng from vertue in to vertue. a1500 (a1470) (BL Add. 10099) 511 (MED) King Henry neuer profited ne Went forward. 1570 T. Norton tr. A. Nowell sig. Aiij The maister opposeth the scholar to see how he hath profited. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. i. 13 My husband saies my sonne profits nothing in the world at his Booke. View more context for this quotation 1675 Cullen Kirk Session Rec. 25 Nov. in That the minister..examin the said boy onc in the quarter whether he be profiting or not. 1751 T. Smollett I. xx. 145 He had profited in his studies beyond expectation. 1793 (1825) LXXII. 128 To him it belongs to teach us to profit and to bring home Divine truth to our minds. †III. Senses relating to presentation. the mind > possession > giving > offer or action of offering > offer [verb (transitive)] a1450 (1885) 224 (MED) Þan may we prophite oure pele. 1611 in (N. Riding Rec. Soc.) (1884) I. 217 The executors of the late Rob. Simpson, Threasurer for the Hospitalls, shall profitt his accompt at Pickering on April 12th. Derivatives 1581 R. Mulcaster xxxix. 204 Officious thankefullnes in the profited hearer. 1848 in W. Arnot (1869) i. 33 For years I have been a profited reader of your writings. society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [adjective] > profitable 1590 W. Clever 109 Of medicioneable and saluing condition ouer one, and nothing at all profiting but rather hurting unto another. 1605 in T. Hutton 28 Sundry places of this Scripture..left out as lesse profiting or edifying. 1908 3 Oct. 5/4 So many profiting interests are concerned that there can be little doubt as to the ultimate formation of a syndicate. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). <  n.a1325 v.c1330 |
