fortune, trade, deal, currency, debt: meanings and examples

Learn these 5 words from Intermediate set 13. Each entry includes a definition, example sentence, pronunciation, and synonyms. Use the interactive cards above to practice them.

1. fortune · noun/ˈfɔrtʃən/

   a large amount of wealth that someone owns

   A catering business in Georgia, which started in the owner's home, has made a fortune in only two years.

   Synonyms: wealth, riches

   Origin: Middle English: via Old French from Latin Fortuna, the name of a goddess personifying luck or chance

2. trade · noun/treɪd/

   the act of buying and selling goods and services

   The businessmen in the committee clearly appreciated the president's continuous focus on trade, and his efforts to promote exports.

   Synonyms: business, buying and selling

   Origin: late Middle English (as a noun): from Middle Low German, literally ‘track’, of West Germanic origin; related to tread. Early senses included ‘course, way of life’, which gave rise in the 16th century to ‘habitual practice of an occupation’, ‘skilled handicraft’. The current verb senses date from the late 16th century

3. deal · noun/dil/

   an agreement in business that benefits both sides

   Everyone in the office drank coffee from the same coffee company, so they made a deal with them to provide fresh coffee to the office every morning.

   Synonyms: arrangement, contract

   Origin: Old English dǣlan ‘divide’, ‘participate’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch deel and German Teil ‘part’ (noun), also to dole. The sense ‘divide’ gave rise to ‘distribute’, hence deal (sense 1 of the verb, deal sense 4 of the verb); the sense ‘participate’ gave rise to ‘have dealings with’, hence deal (sense 2 of the verb, deal sense 3 of the verb)

4. currency · noun/ˈkərənsi/

   paper or coin money of a country

   Trading in foreign currency allowed the tourism sector to survive the economic crisis of 2009.

   Synonyms: money, cash

   Origin: mid 17th century: from medieval Latin currentia ‘a flowing’, from currere ‘to run’

5. debt · noun/dɛt/

   the state of owing something especially money to someone

   The United States inherited a huge debt from the Revolutionary War. Many northern states had to borrow heavily to pay it back.

   Synonyms: money owed, loan

   Origin: Middle English dette: from Old French, based on Latin debitum ‘something owed’, past participle of debere ‘owe’. The spelling change in French and English was by association with the Latin word