Instalment
/ɪnˈstɔːl.mənt/noun
A sum of money paid or received in parts at different times.
Did you know?Instalment comes from the idea of being “set in place” piece by piece, from the same root as words like stall and install, so even finance carries the language of positioning and arrangement.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*stel-
“to put, place, stand”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*stallaz
“a place, standing place”
Old French
Old French
estal
“a place, position, or fixed arrangement”
Middle English
English
installe
“to place in position; to set up”
17th Century
English
instalment
“the act of installing or placing; later, a payment made in parts”
Modern English
English
instalment
“one of several partial payments”