- premium (n.)
- c.1600, "reward given for a specific act," from L. prĉmium "reward, profit derived from booty," from prĉ- "before" + emere "to buy," originally "to take" (see exempt). Insurance sense is 1660s, from It. premio. Adj. sense of "superior in quality" is first attested 1928, originally in reference to a grade of motor fuel.