Etymograph

English

payment

Payment comes from Old French paiement.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400paiement1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1918payment1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English payment
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, William Babington Maxwell, Indianapolis: ““[…] This is Mr. Churchill, who, as you are…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400paiementWiktionary, English payment
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1918paymentWiktionary, English payment. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, William Babington Maxwell, Indianapolis: ““[…] This is Mr. Churchill, who, as you are…”

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Today it means

noun The act of paying.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “payment”. 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 / Old French paiement / payment