installment

== English == === Alternative forms === instalment (Commonwealth) === Pronunciation === enPR: ĭn-stôlʹmənt, (UK) IPA(key): /ɪnˈstɔːl.mənt/ (US) IPA(key): /ɪnˈstɔl.mənt/ (cot–caught merger) IPA(key): /ɪnˈstɑl.mənt/ (General Australian) IPA(key): /ɪnˈstoːl.mənt/ === Etymology 1 === A 1732 alteration of estallment, from Anglo-Norman estaler (“fix payments”), from Old French estal (“fixed position”), from Old High German stal (“stall", "standing place”) The sense of "part of a whole produced in advance of the rest" is from 1823. ==== Noun ==== installment (plural installments) (American spelling) One of a series of parts, whether equal or unequal to the other parts of the series, of a given entity or a given process, which part presents or is presented at a particular scheduled interval. (banking, finance) Any of a series of portions of a debt or sum of money, which portions may or may not be equal in amount (depending in part on whether the interest rate is fixed or variable), and payment of which takes place at regular intervals toward satisfaction of the total. Payments are generally mensual, quarterly, triannual, biannual, or annual. (publishing, media) A part of a published or broadcast serial. ===== Usage notes ===== For this sense in the UK, the OED permits only the spelling instalment. Commonwealth usage varies. ===== Synonyms ===== (portion of a debt): (part of a broadcast or published serial): episode, part ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From install +‎ -ment, install from Old French installer, from Medieval Latin installare, from Medieval Latin in- and Medieval Latin stallum, stall from a Germanic source (compare Old High German stal). ==== Noun ==== installment (plural installments) (American spelling) The act of installing; installation. (obsolete) The seat in which one is placed. ===== Synonyms ===== investiture, investment installation ===== Translations ===== === References === “installment”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. “installment” in Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary: Based on Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, 7th edition, Springfield, Mass.: G[eorge] & C[harles] Merriam, 1963 (1967 printing), →OCLC. Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “installment”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.