Grossing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Generating the total income from sales or business activities before any deductions
2. Achieving a sum of money brought in by sales without subtracting any costs or expenses
3. Producing a total amount of earnings from commercial transactions prior to deducting expenses

Etymology: Money-making sense aside, "grossing" traces back to a word that once meant "thick" or "coarse." Middle English "gros" meant large, thick, or full-bodied, and it could also describe something crude or unrefined, a sense that survives in "gross" meaning vulgar. The adjective came into English from Old French "gros," which descended from Latin "grossus," meaning big or fat, and in Late Latin also coarse or rough. The commercial sense grew out of the idea of a total taken in bulk. Something "gross" was whole and undivided, the opposite of broken into fine parts, so a gross amount was the total before anything was subtracted. Calling income "gross" means it is counted before costs, taxes, or deductions are taken out. The verb "grossing" thus describes a sum rising to a total before expenses are removed, a meaning far from the original image of physical bulk.