Nonprofits

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Organizations that operate without the intention of making profit, typically aiming to support a social cause or public benefit
2. Entities that exist to fulfill charitable, educational, or social missions rather than to generate financial gain
3. Groups dedicated to furthering a public or social purpose instead of distributing profits to owners or shareholders

Etymology: "Nonprofits" is simply the plural of "nonprofit," so the history belongs to the adjective-noun pair. The first half, "non-," is an English prefix meaning "not," descended from Old English "nān" ("not one," literally "no one"), which also gave us "none." The second half is "profit," borrowed from Old French and ultimately from Latin "profectus," a noun related to "proficere," meaning "to make progress" or "to advance." Put together, "nonprofit" describes an organization that does not aim to advance financially, which means its surplus is kept within the mission rather than paid out to owners. The compound is a transparent formation, built by joining an everyday prefix to a long-established economic noun, rather than a coinage with a single inventor or a dramatic turning point. Its meaning is therefore exactly what its parts suggest, and the plural simply follows the regular English pattern of adding "-s."

Synonyms: charities, foundations, organizations, institutions, associations

Antonyms: for-profits, businesses, corporations, enterprises, companies