# cash

Pronunciation: say "KASH" /kæʃ/

## Noun

1. Money in the form of paper notes and coins, rather than checks, credit, or electronic payments.
   - Simple: Money in the form of paper bills and coins, not checks or cards.
   - _Many small vendors still prefer cash over card payments._
   - _He withdrew a few hundred dollars in cash before the trip._
2. Money in general, regardless of the form it takes. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Money of any kind, in everyday casual use.
   - _He made serious cash flipping used cars._
   - _They're always short on cash by the end of the month._
3. Money or assets that can be spent or traded quickly, unlike investments that cannot be easily converted.
   - Simple: Money you can use right away, not money tied up in things you own.
   - _The firm holds substantial cash to cover short-term liabilities._
   - _Investors worried the startup was burning through its cash too fast._
5. The register or the counter in a business where payments are taken and money is stored. *(Canada)*
   - Simple: The machine or counter in a store where you pay and money is kept.
   - _Two new clerks were trained to run the cash during the holiday rush._
   - _He counted the money in the cash at the end of his shift._
9. Any of various small coins of low value formerly used in East, Southeast, and South Asia, especially the Chinese copper coin with a square hole and a small coin of southern India.
   - Simple: A small coin of low value once used in China, India, and other parts of Asia.
   - _Merchants hauled heavy strings of cash to the market._
   - _Each cash was cast from copper and pierced with a square hole._

## Verb

4. To exchange a check for money in the form of bills and coins.
   - Simple: To trade a check for paper money and coins.
   - _Without a bank account, he had to cash every paycheck at a store that charged a fee._
   - _She cashed the refund check and paid her rent in full._

## Adjective

6. Excellent or impressive; very cool. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Very good, cool, or impressive.
   - _The whole party was absolutely cash._
   - _Those sneakers are pretty cash, honestly._

## Noun

7. A place or box where money is stored, deposited, and paid out. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A box or place where money is kept, paid out, and taken in.

## Verb

8. To disband a group, or to do away with or kill someone or something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To break up a group, or to get rid of or kill something.

## Other meanings

- (noun) An occasion of winning a money prize, especially in a game or contest.
- (verb) To receive a payout by placing well enough in a tournament.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–7** — Proto-Indo-European *keh₂p- ("grasp") lies at the root, by way of Latin capiō ("take, seize") and capsa ("box"). This became Occitan caissa, which late Middle French borrowed as caisse ("money-box"), the source of the English word. Case, chase, and chasse are doublets.
**Meaning 9** — A variant of earlier 'cass', shaped by the other 'cash' above, from Tamil காசு (kācu), ultimately from Sanskrit 'karsha' (a unit of weight). It was extended to other low-denomination coins in Southeast and East Asia, following cognate Portuguese forms like 'caixa'.
**Meaning 8** — Related to cashier, "to dismiss from service," which goes back through Dutch to Old French casser, "to break up."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cash (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).