Etymograph

English

income

Income comes from Middle English income.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500income1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1594income1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English income
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto): “Pain payes the income of ech precious thing,”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500incomeWiktionary, English income
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1594incomeWiktionary, English income. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto): “Pain payes the income of ech precious thing,”

The story

From Middle English income, perhaps continuing (in altered form) Old English incyme (‘an in-coming, entrance’), equivalent to in- + come.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Middle English income

Today it means

noun Money one earns by working or by capitalising on the work of others.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “income”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English income / income

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