Adjacent Words

Subsidy definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SUB'SIDY, n. [L. subsidium, from subsido, literally to be or sit under or by.]
1. Aid in money; supply given; a tax;something furnished for aid, as by the people to their prince; as the subsidies granted formerly to the kings of England.
Subsidies were a tax, not immediately on property,but on persons in respect of their reputed estates, after the nominal rate of 4s. the pound for lands, and 1 Samuel 8d. for goods.
2. A sum of money paid by one prince or nation to another, to purchase the service of auxiliary troops, or the aid of such foreign prince in a war against an enemy. Thus Great Britain paid subsidies to Austria and Prussia, to engage them to resist the progress of the French.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a grant paid by a government to an enterprise that benefits the public; "a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence"

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -dies) Etymology: Middle English subsidie, from Anglo-French, from Latin subsidium reserve troops, support, assistance, from sub- near + sed?re to sit — more at sub-, sit Date: 14th century a grant or gift of money: as a. a sum of money formerly granted by the British Parliament to the crown and raised by special taxation b. money granted by one state to another c. a grant by a government to a private person or company to assist an enterprise deemed advantageous to the public

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 a money granted by the State or a public body etc. to keep down the price of commodities etc. (housing subsidy). b money granted to a charity or other undertaking held to be in the public interest. c any grant or contribution of money. 2 money paid by one State to another in return for military, naval, or other aid. 3 hist. a a parliamentary grant to the sovereign for State needs. b a tax levied on a particular occasion. Etymology: ME f. AF subsidie, OF subside f. L subsidium assistance

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Subsidy Sub"si*dy, n.; pl. Subsidies. [L. subsidium the troops stationed in reserve in the third line of battlem reserve, support, help, fr. subsidere to sit down, lie in wait: cf. F. subside. See Subside.] 1. Support; aid; co["o]peration; esp., extraordinary aid in money rendered to the sovereign or to a friendly power. They advised the king to send speedy aids, and with much alacrity granted a great rate of subsidy. --Bacon. Note: Subsidies were taxes, not immediately on on property, but on persons in respect of their reputed estates, after the nominal rate of 4s. the pound for lands, and 2s. 8d. for goods. --Blackstone. 2. Specifically: A sum of money paid by one sovereign or nation to another to purchase the co["o]peration or the neutrality of such sovereign or nation in war. 3. A grant from the government, from a municipal corporation, or the like, to a private person or company to assist the establishment or support of an enterprise deemed advantageous to the public; a subvention; as, a subsidy to the owners of a line of ocean steamships. Syn: Tribute; grant. Usage: Subsidy, Tribute. A subsidy is voluntary; a tribute is exacted.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(subsidies) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. A subsidy is money that is paid by a government or other authority in order to help an industry or business, or to pay for a public service. European farmers are planning a massive demonstration against farm subsidy cuts... N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Support, aid, co-operation. 2. Pecuniary aid (granted by one Government to another), tribute.

Moby Thesaurus

TLC, accouterment, aid, alimony, allotment, allowance, annuity, armament, assistance, backing, bounty, bread, capitalization, care, carriage, carrying, catering, chandlery, contribution, daily bread, deficit financing, depletion allowance, dole, economic support, endowment, equipment, fellowship, financial assistance, financial backing, financial support, financing, finding, fitting out, funding, furnishing, furnishment, gift, grant, grant-in-aid, grubstake, guaranteed annual income, help, investment, keep, livelihood, living, logistics, maintenance, manna, meat, moral support, mothering, nourishment, nurture, old-age insurance, outfitting, patronization, paying the bills, pecuniary aid, pension, preparation, price support, procurement, providing, provision, provision of capital, provisioning, psychological support, public assistance, public welfare, purveyance, reinforcement, reliance, relief, replenishment, resupply, retailing, retirement benefits, reward, scholarship, security blanket, selling, sponsorship, stake, standing treat, stipend, subsidization, subsidizing, subsistence, subvention, supply, supplying, support, supportive relationship, supportive therapy, sustaining, sustainment, sustenance, sustentation, tax benefit, tender loving care, treat, upholding, upkeep, victualing, welfare, welfare aid, welfare payments