WORD OF THE DAY: Imprest
[IM-prest]
Part of speech: Noun
Origin: Italian, mid-16th century
Definition: A fund used by a business for small items of expenditure and restored to a fixed amount periodically; a sum of money advanced to a person for a particular purpose.
Examples of Imprest in a sentence
“The business has a specific imprest fund.”
“Charlotte was clear that she was offering her friend an imprest for her bills.”
About Imprest
This term stems from the earlier phrase “in prest,” meaning “as a loan,” likely influenced by the Italian or medieval Latin “imprestare,” meaning “lend.”
Did you Know?
“Imprest” is pronounced exactly like another, more common word in the American lexicon: impressed. But they have two very different meanings — while an “imprest” is related to loans and business funds, “impressed” means either “feeling or showing admiration or respect for someone or something” or “applied to something using pressure,” depending on the context.
