Adjacent Words

Premium definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PRE'MIUM, n. [L.] Properly, a reward or recompense; a prize to be won by competition; the reward or prize to be adjudged to the best performance or production.
1. The recompense or prize offered for a specific discovery or for success in an enterprise; as for the discovery of the longitude, or of a northwest passage to the Pacific Ocean.
2. A bounty; something offered or given for the loan of money, usually a sum beyond the interest.
3. The recompense to underwriters for insurance, or for undertaking to indemnify for losses of any kind.
4. It is sometimes synonymous with interest, but generally in obtaining loans, it is a sum per cent. distinct from the interest.
The bank lends money to government at a premium of 2 per cent.
5. A bounty.
The law that obliges parishes to support the poor, offers a premium for the encouragement of idleness.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: having or reflecting superior quality or value; "premium gasoline at a premium price" n
1: payment for insurance [syn: premium, insurance premium]
2: the amount that something in scarce supply is valued above its nominal value; "they paid a premium for access to water"
3: a fee charged for exchanging currencies [syn: agio, agiotage, premium, exchange premium]
4: a prize, bonus, or award given as an inducement to purchase products, enter competitions initiated by business interests, etc.; "they encouraged customers with a premium for loyal patronage"
5: payment or reward (especially from a government) for acts such as catching criminals or killing predatory animals or enlisting in the military [syn: bounty, premium]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Latin praemium booty, profit, reward, from prae- + emere to take, buy — more at redeem Date: 1601 1. a. a reward or recompense for a particular act b. a sum over and above a regular price paid chiefly as an inducement or incentive c. a sum in advance of or in addition to the nominal value of something <bonds callable at a premium of six percent> d. something given free or at a reduced price with the purchase of a product or service 2. the consideration paid for a contract of insurance 3. a high value or a value in excess of that normally or usually expected <put a premium on accuracy> II. adjective Date: 1844 of exceptional quality or amount; also higher-priced

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 an amount to be paid for a contract of insurance. 2 a a sum added to interest, wages, etc.; a bonus. b a sum added to ordinary charges. 3 a reward or prize. 4 (attrib.) (of a commodity) of best quality and therefore more expensive. Phrases and idioms: at a premium 1 highly valued; above the usual or nominal price. 2 scarce and in demand. Premium Bond (or Savings Bond) Brit. a government security without interest but with a draw for cash prizes. put a premium on 1 provide or act as an incentive to. 2 attach special value to. Etymology: L praemium booty, reward (as PRAE-, emere buy, take)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Premium Pre"mi*um, n.; pl. Premiums. [L. praemium, originally, what one has got before or better than others; prae before + emere to take, buy. See Redeem.] 1. A reward or recompense; a prize to be won by being before another, or others, in a competition; reward or prize to be adjudged; a bounty; as, a premium for good behavior or scholarship, for discoveries, etc. To think it not the necessity, but the premium and privilege of life, to eat and sleep without any regard to glory. --Burke. The law that obliges parishes to support the poor offers a premium for the encouragement of idleness. --Franklin. 2. Something offered or given for the loan of money; bonus; -- sometimes synonymous with interest, but generally signifying a sum in addition to the capital. People were tempted to lend, by great premiums and large interest. --Swift. 3. A sum of money paid to underwriters for insurance, or for undertaking to indemnify for losses of any kind. 4. A sum in advance of, or in addition to, the nominal or par value of anything; as, gold was at a premium; he sold his stock at a premium.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(premiums) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A premium is a sum of money that you pay regularly to an insurance company for an insurance policy. It is too early to say whether insurance premiums will be affected. N-COUNT 2. A premium is a sum of money that you have to pay for something in addition to the normal cost. Even if customers want 'solutions', most are not willing to pay a premium for them... Callers are charged a premium rate of 48p a minute. N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N n 3. Premium goods are of a higher than usual quality and are often expensive. ...the most popular premium ice cream in this country. = luxury ADJ: ADJ n 4. If something is at a premium, it is wanted or needed, but is difficult to get or achieve. If space is at a premium, choose adaptable furniture that won't fill the room. = scarce PHRASE: usu v-link PHR 5. If you buy or sell something at a premium, you buy or sell it at a higher price than usual, for example because it is in short supply. He eventually sold the shares back to the bank at a premium. PHRASE: PHR after v 6. If you place a high premium on a quality or characteristic or put a high premium on it, you regard it as very important. I place a high premium on what someone is like as a person... PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Reward, recompense, remuneration, meed, guerdon, encouragement, douceur, bounty, prize, bonus. 2. Annual rate (of insurance), yearly payment. 3. Rate above par, amount over par, enhancement, appreciation.

Moby Thesaurus

Trinkgeld, abatement, agio, allowance, appreciation, at a premium, award, bait, bank discount, bank rate, bonus, bonus system, bounty, breakage, bribe, carrot, cash discount, chain discount, charge-off, come-on, compensatory interest, compound interest, concession, consideration, costly, cut, dear, dear-bought, decoration, deduction, depreciation, discount, discount rate, dividend, donative, double time, drawback, exceptional, exorbitant interest, expensive, extra, extra added attraction, extra dash, fancy, fee, filigree, filling, fillip, flourish, freebie, frill, fringe benefit, goad, gratuity, gravy, grease, gross interest, guerdon, high, high-priced, honorarium, importance, in short supply, incentive, incentive pay, incitement, inducement, interest, interest rate, kickback, lagniappe, largess, liberality, lucrative interest, lure, luxurious, meed, mortgage points, net interest, not affordable, of great cost, ornament, overtime pay, padding, palm oil, penal interest, penalty, penalty clause, percentage, perks, perquisite, perquisites, plum, pourboire, price, price of money, price reduction, price-cut, pricey, prize, rare, rate, rate of interest, rebate, rebatement, reduction, refund, regard, reward, rich, rollback, salvage, salve, scant, scanty, scarce, setoff, simple interest, solatium, something extra, sparse, sportula, spur, steep, stiff, stimulus, stock, store, stuffing, sumptuous, superaddition, sweetener, tare, time discount, tip, top, trade discount, tret, trimming, twist, underselling, unpayable, usury, value, wrinkle, write-off