bonus

views updated May 14 2018

bo·nus / ˈbōnəs/ • n. a payment or gift added to what is usual or expected, in particular: ∎ an amount of money added to wages on a seasonal basis, esp. as a reward for good performance: big Christmas bonuses. ∎ something welcome and often unexpected that accompanies and enhances something that is itself good: good weather is an added bonus but the real appeal is the landscape. ∎ Basketball an extra free throw awarded to a fouled player when the opposing team has exceeded the number of team fouls allowed during a period.ORIGIN: late 18th cent. (probably originally London stock-exchange slang): from Latin bonus (masculine) ‘good,’ used in place of bonum (neuter) ‘good, good thing.’

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

bonus

views updated May 11 2018

bonus addition to normal pay. XVIII. prob. joc. or ignorant application of L. bonus m. for bonum n. good thing.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

BONUS

views updated May 23 2018

BONUS (ˈbəʊnəs) Finance Borrower's Option for Notes and Underwritten Standby

The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH