assets

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noun

a useful and desirable thing or quality: Organizational ability is an asset.

a single item of ownership having exchange value.

assets.

items of ownership convertible into cash; total resources of a person or business, as cash, notes and accounts receivable, securities, inventories, goodwill, fixtures, machinery, or real estate ( opposed to liabilities ).

Accounting. the items detailed on a balance sheet, especially in relation to liabilities and capital.

all property available for the payment of debts, especially of a bankrupt or insolvent firm or person.

Law. property in the hands of an heir, executor, or administrator, that is sufficient to pay the debts or legacies of a deceased person.

Origin:
1525–35; back formation from assets, in phrase have assets, literally, have enough (to pay obligations) < Anglo-French, Old French asez enough. See assai¹

Related forms

as·set·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To assets

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a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

asset (ˈæsɛt)

—n
	See also assets anything valuable or useful: experience is their main asset

[C19: back formation from assets]

assets (ˈæsɛts)

—*pl n*
1.	accounting Compare liabilities the property and claims against debtors that a business enterprise may apply to discharge its liabilities. Assets may be fixed, current, liquid, or intangible and are shown balanced against liabilities
2.	law the property available to an executor or administrator for settlement of the debts and payment of legacies of the estate of a deceased or insolvent person
3.	any property owned by a person or firm

[C16 (in the sense: enough to discharge one's liabilities): via Anglo-French from Old French asez enough, from Vulgar Latin ad satis (unattested), from Latin ad up to + satis enough]

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

Word Origin & History

assets

1530s, from Anglo-Fr. asetz (singular), from O.Fr. assez "enough" (11c.), from V.L. *ad satis "to sufficiency," from L. ad- "to" + satis "enough" (see sad). Beginning as a legal term, "sufficient estate" (to satisfy debts and legacies), it passed into general use; meaning "any

property that theoretically can be converted to ready money" is from 1580s. Asset is a 19c. artificial singular.

asset

see assets.

American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

asset definition

A possession that can be turned into cash to cover liabilities.

Note: Commonly, the term denotes anything of value.

Matching Quote

"Why doesn't the United States take over the monarchy and unite with England? England does have important assets. Naturally the longer you wait, the more they will dwindle. At least you could use it for a summer resort instead of Maine."

-W.H. Auden

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