Coffer

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkɒfə/

Definitions

1. A sturdy box used to store valuable items securely ; a reserve of money or resources kept for specific use or emergencies
2. A locked container for holding money, jewels, or important items safely ; an amount of funds held by an organization or government for expenses or projects
3. A secure chest designed to protect treasured possessions ; a budget or money supply designated for particular purposes or savings

Etymology: A coffer was once little more than a basket. The Ancient Greek "kóphinos" meant a basket, and the Latin "cophinus" carried that same sense, so a container woven from plaited material sits at the start of this word's story. Over centuries the object changed from wicker to wood and metal, and its purpose narrowed from carrying goods to guarding them. The word passed into Middle English as "cofre" and "coffre" from Old French, and it kept its close relationship with another word that began as the same basket. "Coffin" is a doublet of coffer, meaning the two words descend from the same source but reached English by different routes and took on different meanings. One became the strongbox, the other the burial container. The word also travelled eastward in another form. German "Koffer" means a suitcase, so a box built to protect valuables and a traveller's luggage share a single ancestor in a Greek basket.

Synonyms: chest, box, safe, fund, repository