stipend

American  

[stahy-pend] / ˈstaɪ pɛnd /

noun

1. a periodic payment, especially a scholarship or fellowship allowance granted to a student.

2. fixed or regular pay; salary.

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stipend British  

/ ˈstaɪpɛnd /

noun

1. a fixed or regular amount of money paid as a salary or allowance, as to a clergyman

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Related Words

See pay ¹.

Other Word Forms

• stipendless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of stipend

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English stipendie, from Latin stīpendium “soldier's pay,” syncopated variant of *stipipendium, equivalent to stipi-, combining form of stips a coin + pend(ere) “to weigh out, pay” ( see pend) + -ium noun suffix ( see -ium)

Compare meaning

How does stipend compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• stipend vs. salary

Explanation

A stipend is a fixed, regular payment, usually meant to pay for something specific. It's kind of like an allowance, but for grownups — a college scholarship might include a stipend each semester for books, for example. Coming from the Latin stipendium, which means “tax, pay, or gift,” the noun stipend is defined as a regular, unchanging payment usually given as reward for services, but sometimes given as an allowance with no services or expectations attached. A summer internship that does not offer a full salary might instead include a weekly stipend that covers transportation and lunch costs. Synonyms include salary and payment.

Example Sentences

Stipend amounts were based on the employees’ tenure, with $250 going to employees who had been there less than 18 months and $400 for those there longer.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 12, 2020

They worked for a grinding Corporation, each pulling down a Stipend that enabled him to indulge in Musical Comedies, Rotation Pool, Turkish Cigarettes, Link Buttons and other Necessities of Life.

From Knocking the Neighbors by Ade, George

The Governor has two or three thousand Florins, and sometimes more as a Gratuity, besides his Stipend.

From The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume I Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts. by P?llnitz, Karl Ludwig von

Stipend, the salary of a clergyman, a benefice.

From The Proverbs of Scotland by Hislop, Alexander

Stipend, stī′pend, n. a salary paid for services, esp. to a clergyman in Scotland: settled pay.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

Related Words

• allowance
• fee
• gratuity
• pension
• salary
• wage