stipend

American  

[stahy-pend] / ˈstaɪ pɛnd /

noun

stipends plural

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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Synonym Usage

See pay ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• stipendless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stipends
  plural

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

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

Stipend, the salary of a clergyman, a benefice.

From The Proverbs of Scotland by Hislop, Alexander

To have a thin Stipend, and an everlasting Parish, Lord what a torment 'tis!

From The Spanish Curate A Comedy by Fletcher, John

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

Related Words

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