See Also: Earnest(medicine)
earnest(dictionary)
earnest(2)(dictionary)
earnest(1)(dictionary)
EARNEST INV(finance)
Earnest money(finance)
Earnest Money(money)
Importance of Being Earnest, The(dictionary)
earnest 1, adjective(dictionary)
earnest 2, noun(dictionary)

earnest (iou)



earnest noun2. ME.
[Prob. ult. from Old French erres ARLES, assim. first to -NESS, then to EARNEST noun1.]
(A sum of) money given in part-payment, esp. for the purpose of binding a bargain; fig. a foretaste, token, or pledge of one's intention or of what is to come.
R. Macaulay Destruction, savagery; an earnest..of the universal doom. J. Rathbone What earnest can you give me that you will perform what you promised?
Comb.: earnest money, earnest penny a small sum of money paid to secure a bargain.