Meaning

noun the commercial activity of providing funds and capital

noun the branch of economics that studies the management of money and other assets

noun the management of money and credit and banking and investments

originFrom Middle English finaunce, from Anglo-Norman, Middle French finance, from finer (“to pay ransom”) (whence also English fine (“to pay a penalty”)), from fin (“end”), from Latin fīnis. Original English sense that appeared c. 1400 was “ending”. The sense of “ending or satisfying a debt” originated from French influence: in the sense of “ransom” appeared in the mid 15th century, in the sense of…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0