- profit (n.)
- early 14c., from O.Fr. prufit (c.1140), from L. profectus "profit, progress," prop. pp. of proficere (see proficiency). As the opposite of loss, it replaced O.E. gewinn. The verb is attested from c.1300, from O.Fr. prufiter, from the noun. Profiteer first recorded 1797 as a verb, but dormant until revived in World War I; 1912 as a noun. Profitable is from early 14c., "yielding benefit, useful; " in specific sense of "money-making," it is attested from 1758.