Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The annual payment of an allowance or income.
  • noun The right to receive this payment or the obligation to make this payment.
  • noun A contract or agreement by which one receives fixed payments on an investment for a lifetime or for a specified number of years.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The ligament which attaches the stapes to the rim of the fenestra ovalis.
  • noun A periodical payment of money, amounting to a fixed sum in each year, the moneys paid being either a gift or in consideration of a gross sum received.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A sum of money, payable yearly, to continue for a given number of years, for life, or forever; an annual allowance.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A specified income payable at stated intervals for a fixed or a contingent period, often for the recipient’s life, in consideration of a stipulated premium paid either in prior installment payments or in a single payment. For example, a retirement annuity paid to a public officer following his or her retirement.
  • noun The right to receive such an income.
  • noun The duty to make such a payment or payments.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun income from capital investment paid in a series of regular payments

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English annuite, from Anglo-Norman, from Medieval Latin annuitās, from Latin annuus, yearly, from annus, year; see at- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French annuité, from Medieval Latin annuitās, from Latin annuus ("annual").

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word annuity.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.