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subsidy

[suhb-si-dee]
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noun, plural sub·si·dies.
  1. a direct pecuniary aid furnished by a government to a private industrial undertaking, a charity organization, or the like.
  2. a sum paid, often in accordance with a treaty, by one government to another to secure some service in return.
  3. a grant or contribution of money.
  4. money formerly granted by the English Parliament to the crown for special needs.
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Origin of subsidy

1325–75; Middle English subsidie < Anglo-French < Latin subsidium auxiliary force, reserve, help, equivalent to sub- sub- + sid-, combining form of sedēre to sit1 + -ium -ium
Related formsan·ti·sub·si·dy, noun, plural an·ti·sub·si·dies.non·sub·si·dy, noun, plural non·sub·si·dies.

Synonyms

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1. Subsidy, subvention are both grants of money, especially governmental, to aid private undertakings. A subsidy is usually given to promote commercial enterprise: a subsidy to manufacturers during a war. A subvention is usually a grant to stimulate enterprises connected with science and the arts: a subvention to a research chemist by a major company.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

premium, gift, grant, bonus, assistance, support, appropriation, pension, aid, contribution, scholarship, endowment, payment, allowance, alimony, subvention, help, gratuity, honorarium, subsidization

Examples from the Web for subsidy

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The man who is honest in his dealings with his fellowman has a subsidy which money cannot buy.

    Dollars and Sense

    Col. Wm. C. Hunter

  • But they followed their old habits when the year had expired and the subsidy ceased.

  • On the 29th the crown debts were alleged as a reason for demanding a subsidy.

    The Reign of Mary Tudor

    W. Llewelyn Williams.

  • Prussia had agreed in the spring to accept an English subsidy.

    Lectures on the French Revolution

    John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton

  • It is ten years since I had a subsidy, in all which time I have been sparing to trouble you.

    Charles I

    Jacob Abbott

British Dictionary definitions for subsidy

subsidy

noun plural -dies
  1. a financial aid supplied by a government, as to industry, for reasons of public welfare, the balance of payments, etc
  2. English history a financial grant made originally for special purposes by Parliament to the Crown
  3. any monetary contribution, grant, or aid
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Word Origin

C14: from Anglo-Norman subsidie, from Latin subsidium assistance, from subsidēre to remain, from sub- down + sedēre to sit
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for subsidy

n.

late 14c., from Anglo-French subsidie, from Old French subside "help, aid, contribution," from Latin subsidium "help, aid, assistance, (military) reinforcements," from sub "behind, near" (see sub-) + sedere "to sit" (see sedentary).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
subsidy in Culture

subsidy

A grant made by a government to some individual or business in order to maintain an acceptable standard of living or to stimulate economic growth.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.