Etymology
The English word ''cash'' is of the French ''
caisse,'' itself a borrowing of the
Provençal ''caissa.'' That Provençal word is a derivative of the
Latin ''
capsa'' (box, chest), most likely by way of an unattested
Vulgar Latin form ''
capsea;'' Spanish ''caja'' and Portuguese ''caixa'' are their respective languages' reflexes.[{{cite encyclopedia]
|title=Cash, ''n.''
1
|encyclopedia=
OED Online
}}
[{{cite encyclopedia]
|title=Caisse
|last=Bloch, Oscar, and Walther von Warthburg (Dirs.)
|encyclopedia=Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française
|location=Paris
|publisher=Presses universitaires de France
|edition=1er édition «Quadrige»
|year=2002
}}
From the original sense of a box or a chest, the word came to refer to a sum of money such as was or might be contained in one, and eventually to
specie or, with the elimination of metallic standards,
banknotes.
In this sense, it is used in contrast to credit or other financial instruments.
The word "cash" can also be traced back to:
Sanskrit ''karsa'', a weight of gold or silver but akin to
Old Persian ''karsha''-, a weight. a unit of value equivalent to one cash coin.
Historical usage in Asia
The word was formerly used also to refer to certain low-value coins used in
South and
East Asia. This sense derives from the
Tamil ''kāsu,'' a
South Indian monetary unit. The early European representations of this Tamil word, including Portuguese ''caxa'' and English ''cass,'' merged the existing words ''caixa'' and ''cash,'' which had similar connections with money. In the pre-
1818 South Indian monetary system, the cash was the basic coin, with 80 cash equalling a ''fanam'' and 42 fanams equalling a ''star pagoda'' worth roughly 7
''s.'' 8
''d.''[{{cite encyclopedia]
|title=Cash, ''n.''2
|encyclopedia=OED Online}}
This assimilated Tamil word was then applied to various other coins with which European traders came into contact, including the famous holed cash coins of
China, the
Chinese cash. Also called ''wén'', these coins were commonly strung on cords for use in larger transactions; 1000 equalled a
tael.
In
bookkeeping and
finance, ''cash'' refers to a current asset account, as opposed to long term assets such as property plant and equipment.
Cash is commonly defined as money in the form of bills or coin, legal tender.