Voucher

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈvaʊt͡ʃə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. A paper or electronic document that can be exchanged for goods, services, or discounts ; an official record or receipt verifying a business transaction ; an individual who approves or authorizes the payment of expenses
2. A certificate or token used to claim merchandise or services ; proof of expenditure or financial dealings ; a person given authority to sanction payments
3. A written or digital proof to obtain products or discounts without direct payment ; a document confirming a purchase or transaction has occurred ; one who endorses or sanctions a financial disbursement

Etymology: The word "voucher" is built from the verb "vouch" plus the suffix "-er", which turns a verb into a noun for a person or thing that does the action. The verb itself came first: "vouch" meant to call someone or something as a witness, or to give a guarantee, and the noun grew out of that sense of attesting to something. A voucher, in its earliest sense, was therefore one who vouches for a claim, such as a person who stands behind a statement or sanctions a payment, before it came to mean the written document that does the same job. That shift from person to paper is the interesting turn. Someone who endorsed an account was a voucher, and over time the thing that carried that endorsement, a receipt or certificate proving a transaction had happened, took the name. Today the word covers both senses: the financial sanctioner and the printed or digital coupon that lets you buy something at a reduced price or without paying directly.

Synonyms: coupon, certificate, token, receipt, warrant