Bankroll

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The sum of money available or allocated for a particular activity or venture ; to supply the capital needed to start or support an enterprise
2. A sum of money set aside to finance something ; to provide the financial backing necessary for an undertaking
3. The amount of funds dedicated to a specific project or operation ; to put up the money required to launch or sustain an activity

Etymology: The word is a compound of "bank" and "roll", and the two parts meet in a sense that has little to do with riverbanks. "Bank" here comes from the Italian "banco", a bench or counter where money-changers did business, while "roll" refers to a roll of paper or a list. Together they describe a supply of money kept on hand, often a bundle of notes rolled up for carrying, and from that the word moved to the noun for a person's total resources and then to the verb for financing someone or something. Both parts are older than the compound. "Roll" traces to the Latin "rotulus", a little wheel or scroll, which is why a document kept as a scroll gave English its sense of a list. The compound simply joins these two commercial senses into a single picture of funds, and the verb followed by treating the same money as something one puts up to back an enterprise.

Synonyms: fund, finance, capital, stake