Undercapitalised

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having too little money invested in a business to sustain its operations or growth properly
2. Describing an enterprise that lacks the financial funds needed to function or expand adequately
3. Short of the monetary resources required for a company or project to run successfully

Etymology: "Undercapitalised" is a straightforward compound: the prefix "under-" joined to "capitalised," the British spelling of "capitalized." In the sense used here, "under-" means insufficiently or to too small a degree, so the whole word describes a business or venture that lacks enough financial capital to operate or grow properly. The base word draws on "capital," which comes via Latin "capitalis," meaning "of the head" or "chief," from "caput," head. Its financial sense developed from the idea of principal sums of money and the head of a debt. "Capitalise" then took on the sense of supplying a business with funds, and "under-" was attached to describe a shortfall of that funding.

Synonyms: underfunded, underfinanced, underresourced

Antonyms: well-capitalised, well-funded