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Profit

 [prof-it]   Origin

prof·it

   [prof-it]
noun
1.
Often, profits.
a.
pecuniary gain resulting from the employment of capital in any transaction. Compare gross profit, net profit.
b.
the ratio of such pecuniary gain to the amount of capital invested.
c.
returns, proceeds, or revenue, as from property or investments.
2.
the monetary surplus left to a producer or employer after deducting wages, rent, cost of raw materials, etc.: The company works on a small margin of profit.
3.
advantage; benefit; gain.
verb (used without object)
4.
to gain an advantage or benefit: He profited greatly from his schooling.
5.
to make a profit.
6.
to take advantage: to profit from the weaknesses of others.
7.
to be of service or benefit.
8.
to make progress.

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Profit is one of our favorite verbs.
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to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
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verb (used with object)
9.
to be of advantage or profit to: Nothing profits one so much as a sound education.
Origin:
1250–1300; (noun) Middle English < Middle French < Latin prōfectus progress, profit, equivalent to prō- pro-1 + -fec-, combining form of facere to make, do1 + -tus suffix of v. action; (v.) Middle English profiten, derivative of the noun

Related forms
prof·it·er, noun
prof·it·less, adjective
prof·it·less·ly, adverb
prof·it·less·ness, noun
pro·prof·it, adjective
EXPAND
self-prof·it, noun
un·prof·it·ed, adjective
un·prof·it·ing, adjective
COLLAPSE

Can be confused: profit, prophet.

Synonyms
1. return. 2. net income. 3. good, welfare, advancement, improvement. See advantage. 4, 9. advance, improve.

Antonyms
1. loss.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Profit
Collins
World English Dictionary
profit (ˈprɒfɪt)
 
—n
1.  (often plural) excess of revenues over outlays and expenses in a business enterprise over a given period of time, usually a year
2.  the monetary gain derived from a transaction
3.  a.  income derived from property or an investment, as contrasted with capital gains
 b.  the ratio of this income to the investment or principal
4.  economics
 a.  the income or reward accruing to a successful entrepreneur and held to be the motivating factor of all economic activity in a capitalist economy
 b.  (as modifier): the profit motive
5.  a gain, benefit, or advantage
 
—vb
6.  to gain or cause to gain profit
 
[C14: from Latin prōfectus advance, from prōficere to make progress; see proficient]
 
'profiter
 
—n
 
'profitless
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

profit
early 14c., from O.Fr. prufit (c.1140), from L. profectus "profit, progress," prop. pp. of proficere (see proficiency). As the opposite of loss, it replaced O.E. gewinn. The verb is attested from c.1300, from O.Fr. prufiter, from the noun. Profiteer first recorded 1797
EXPAND
as a verb, but dormant until revived in World War I; 1912 as a noun. Profitable is from early 14c., "yielding benefit, useful; " in specific sense of "money-making," it is attested from 1758.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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