To Pay Once Meant to Pacify
A payment is money given for goods, services or a debt. The verb comes from the Latin for making peace.
A payment is a sum given to settle an obligation. The origin is diplomatic rather than commercial: Latin *pacare* meant to pacify, from *pax*, peace. To pay a creditor was to calm them, and the same root sits inside *pacify* and *appease*.
- Money given for something. *A monthly payment.*
- The act of paying. *Payment on delivery.*
- Something given in return. *Payment in kind.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | payment | A late payment. |
| Plural | payments | Missed payments. |
| Verb | pay | Pay the balance. |
| Past | paid | Paid in full. |
| Person | payee | The named payee. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Payment is due within thirty days.Standard invoice wording.
- He accepted payment in kind.Goods or services instead of money.
- The payment did not clear.Banking.
Payment words
- Payee — the person receiving payment
- Payer — the person making it
- Deposit — a part payment made in advance
- Instalment — one of a series of payments
- Remittance — money sent, especially abroad
From Old French *paiement*, from *paier*, to pay, from Latin *pacare*, to pacify, from *pax*, peace. The commercial sense was already established in Late Latin.
Payment or repayment?
A payment settles an amount owed for something. A repayment returns money that was lent.
Paid or payed?
Paid, except in one nautical sense: a rope or seam is payed out or payed with tar.