Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 28, 2024 is: disbursement \diss-BERSS-munt\ noun A disbursement is a payout of money from a fund that has been created for a special purpose. Disbursement can also refer to the money that is paid out. // The company has made large disbursements for research. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disbursement) Examples: “Constructing and reserving White Stadium for the benefit of Boston Public Schools student-athletes was more due to the interpretation of the fund’s Board of Trustees, which, per the will, are in charge of the control and management of said fund, and the disbursement of its income, the source said.” — Gayla Cawley, The Boston Herald, 9 Sept. 2024 Did you know? Disbursement was minted in English in the late 16th century by melding the noun suffix [-ment](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/-ment) with the verb [disburse](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disburse) (which in turn comes, in part, from the Medieval Latin word bursa, meaning “money bag”). During the 16th and 17th centuries, deburse, depurse, and dispurse were deposited in the English language bank as synonyms of disburse. Deburse and depurse were also used respectively to form debursement and depursement, but these synonyms of disburse and disbursement all quickly declined in value and were never redeemed.