interest

English

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• enterest
• intherest (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈɪntɹɛst/
• (US) IPA: /ˈɪntɹəst/, /ˈɪntəɹəst/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Etymology

From Old French interesse and interest (French: intérêt), from Medieval Latin interesse, from Latin interesse.

Noun

interest (plural interests)

1. (uncountable, finance) The price paid for obtaining, or price received for providing, money or goods in a credit transaction, calculated as a fraction of the amount or value of what was borrowed. [from earlier 16th c.]

   Our bank offers borrowers an annual interest of 5%.

2. (uncountable) A great attention and concern from someone or something; intellectual curiosity. [from later 18th c.]

   He has a lot of interest in vintage cars.

3. (uncountable) Attention that is given to or received from someone or something.
4. (countable) A business or amorous link or involvement.

   I have business interests in South Africa.

5. (obsolete, rare) Injury, or compensation for injury; damages.
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.12:

     How can this infinit beauty, power and goodnes admit any correspondencie or similitude with a thing so base and abject as we are, without extreme interest and manifest derogation from his divine greatnesse?

Derived terms

Financial terms

accrued interest beneficial interest capitalized interest carried interest compound interest consumer interest controlling interest defered interest bond earnings before interest and taxes exact interest imputed interest indication of interest insurable interest interest-bearing interest cover interest expense interest rate

interest-sensitive minority interest nominee interest open interest ordinary interest pooling of interest prepaid interest security interest short interest simple interest true interest cost unearned interest

Non-financial terms

by-interest conflict of interest future interest human interest interest group legal interest life interest love interest marine interest

place of interest public interest royalty interest self-interest special interest terminable interest undivided interest vested interest working interest

Translations

the price of credit

• Arabic: فائدة (ar) (faa'ida) f
• Basque: interes (eu)
• Bulgarian: (literally) лихва (bg) (lihva) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 利息 (cmn) (lìxī)

• Czech: úrok (cs) m
• Dutch: interest (nl) m, rente (nl) f and m
• Esperanto: interezo (eo)
• Finnish: korko (fi)
• French: intérêt (fr) m
• German: Zins (de) m
• Greek: τόκος (el) (tókos) m
• Hebrew: ריבית (he) (ribít) f
• Hindi: सूद (hi) (sood), ब्याज (hi) (byaaj)
• Hungarian: kamat (hu)
• Japanese: 利子 (ja) (りし, rishi), 利息 (ja) (りそく, risoku)
• Korean: 이자 (ko) (ija)
• Kurdish: faîz (ku) f, riba (ku) f

• Latvian: procenti (lv) pl
• Lithuanian: palūkanos (lt) f pl, procentai (lt) pl
• Malay: bunga, faedah
• Malayalam: പലിശ (ml) (paliSa)
• Manx: use (gv) m
• Marathi: (मराठी) व्याज (vyaaj)
• Norwegian: rente (no) f
• Polish: odsetki (pl) f pl
• Portuguese: juros (pt) m
• Romanian: dobândă (ro) f
• Russian: процент (ru) (procént) m
• Serbo-Croatian: kamata (sh) f

  Cyrillic: и̏нтере̄с (sh) m

  Roman: ȉnterēs (sh) m

• Spanish: interés (es) m
• Swedish: ränta (sv) c
• Telugu: వడ్డీ (te) (vaDDEE)
• Turkish: faiz (tr)

great attention and concern from someone

• Arabic: اهتمام (ar) ('ihtimaam) m
• Bulgarian: интерес (bg) (interés) m
• Catalan: interès (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 興趣 (cmn), 兴趣 (cmn) (xìngqù)

• Czech: zájem (cs) m
• Danish: interesse (da)
• Dutch: interesse (nl) f
• Esperanto: intereso (eo)
• Finnish: kiinnostus (fi), mielenkiinto (fi)
• French: intérêt (fr) m
• German: Interesse (de) n
• Greek: ενδιαφέρον (el) (endiaféron) n
• Hebrew: עניין (he) (inyán) m
• Hindi: स्वारस्य (hi) (swaarasy)
• Hungarian: érdeklődés (hu)
• Indonesian: bunga (bank) kb, kepentingan kb, keuntungan kb
• Interlingua: interesse (ia)
• Japanese: 興味 (ja) (きょうみ, kyōmi), 関心 (ja) (かんしん, kanshin)
• Korean: 흥미 (ko) (heungmi), 관심 (ko) (gwansim)
• Kurdish: mereq (ku) f, balkêşî (ku) f, entres (ku) f

• Latvian: interese (lv) f
• Lithuanian: interesas (lt) m, domėjimasis (lt) m, susidomėjimas (lt) m
• Malay: minat
• Malayalam: താല്പര്യം (ml) (thaalparyam)
• Manx: foayr (gv) m
• Marathi: (मराठी) स्वारस्य (swaarasy)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: interesse (no) m

  Nynorsk: interesse (no) f

• Polish: zainteresowanie (pl) n
• Portuguese: interesse (pt) m
• Romanian: interes (ro) n
• Russian: интерес (ru) (interés) m
• Scottish Gaelic: suim (gd) f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: и̏нтере̄с (sh) m

  Roman: ȉnterēs (sh) m

• Spanish: interés (es) m
• Swedish: intresse (sv) n
• Telugu: ఆసక్తి (te) (aasakti)
• Volapük: nited (vo)

attention that is given to or received from someone or something

• Afrikaans: belangstelling (af)
• Danish: interessant (da)
• Dutch: belangstelling (nl) f, interesse (nl) f
• Esperanto: intereso (eo)
• Finnish: kiinnostus (fi)
• Greek: ενδιαφέρον (el) (endiaféron) n
• Hebrew: תשומת לב (he) (t'sómet-lév) f
• Japanese: 興味 (ja) (きょうみ, kyōmi), 関心 (ja) (かんしん, kanshin)
• Korean: 흥미 (ko) (heungmi), 관심 (ko) (gwansim)
• Kurdish: mereq (ku) f, balkêşî (ku) f, entres (ku) f
• Malayalam: താല്പര്യം (ml) (thaalparyam)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: interesse (no) m

  Nynorsk: interesse (no) f

• Portuguese: interesse (pt) m
• Romanian: interes (ro) n
• Scottish Gaelic: suim (gd) f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: и̏нтере̄с (sh) m

  Roman: ȉnterēs (sh) m

• Spanish: interés (es) m
• Swedish: intresse (sv) n

business or amorous link or involvement

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 利益 (cmn) (lìyì)

• Dutch: belang (nl)
• Finnish: omistus (fi), intressi (fi), etu (fi) (business interest)
• Greek: συμφέρον (el) (symféron) n (business)
• Hebrew: אינטרס (he) (interés) m
• Hungarian: érdek (hu)
• Japanese: 利益 (ja) (りえき, rieki)
• Kurdish: entres (ku) f

• Malay: kepentingan
• Polish: interesy (pl)
• Portuguese: interesse (pt) m
• Romanian: interes (ro) n, preocupare (ro) f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: и̏нтере̄с (sh) m

  Roman: ȉnterēs (sh) m

• Spanish: interés (es) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: intereso (eo), interesulo (eo) (4)

Verb

interest (third-person singular simple present interests, present participle interesting, simple past and past participle interested)

1. To attract attention or concern.

   It might interest you to learn that others have already tried that approach.

Antonyms

• bore
• disinterest

Derived terms

• interested
• interesting

Translations

to attract attention or concern

• Azeri: maraq (az)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 使...感興趣, 使...感兴趣 (shǐ...gǎn qìngqù)

• Czech: zajímat (cs)
• Danish: interessere (da)
• Dutch: interesseren (nl)
• Esperanto: interesi (eo)
• Finnish: kiinnostaa (fi)
• French: intéresser (fr)
• German: interessieren (de)
• Japanese: (phrase) 興味を引く (ja) (きょうみをひく, kyōmi-o hiku)
• Latvian: interesēt (lv), (reflexive) interesēties (lv)
• Lithuanian: dominti (lt), suinteresuoti (lt), (reflexive) domėtis (lt)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: interessere (no)

  Nynorsk: interessere (no), interessera (no)

• Portuguese: interessar (pt)
• Romanian: interesa (ro)
• Russian: (transitive) интересовать (ru) (interesovát’) impf., заинтересовать (ru) (zainteresovát’) pf.; (intransitive) интересоваться (ru) (interesovát’sja) impf., заинтересоваться (ru) (zainteresovát’sja) pf. (+ instrumental case)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: камата (sh)

  Roman: kamata (sh)

• Spanish: interesar (es)
• Swedish: intressera (sv)
• Volapük: nitedön (vo)

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: story · deep · meet · #472: interest · brother · I've · longer

Anagrams

• sternite

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Dutch

Noun

interest m (plural interesten, diminutive interestje)

1. (finance) interest

Synonyms

• rente

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Latin

Verb

interest

1. third-person singular present active indicative of intersum

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Middle French

Noun

interest m (plural interests)

1. interest (great attention and concern from someone or something)