Portfolio
/pɔːrtˈfoʊ.li.oʊ/noun
A flat case for carrying loose papers, artworks, or documents; by extension, a collection of investments or work samples.
Did you know?Portfolio comes from Italian portfolio, literally a ‘leaf-carrier’ from portare (‘to carry’) + foglio (‘leaf, sheet’), and its modern financial meaning only emerged much later as the language of paper became the language of assets.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
portare
“to carry”
Latin
Latin
folium
“leaf; sheet of paper”
Italian
Italian
portfolio
“a case for carrying loose papers or drawings”
18th Century
French/English
portfolio
“a flat case for papers or artworks”
20th Century
English
portfolio
“a collection of investments or professional work”