late 15c., "laborious attempt, strenuous exertion," from French effort, from Old French esforz "force, impetuosity, strength, power," verbal noun from esforcier "force out, exert oneself," from Vulgar Latin *exfortiare "to show strength" (source of Italian sforza), from Latin ex "out" (see ex-) + Latin fortis "strong" (see fort).
Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt. [José Ortega y Gasset, writing of Goethe in Partisan Review, vol. xvi, part ii, 1949]
Related: Efforts "voluntary exertion," also "result of exertion."
mid-14c., "an act of elevating," verbal noun from raise (v.). Specifically in American English, "the erecting of a building," by 1650s.
RAISING. In New England and the Northern States, the operation or work of setting up the frame of a building. [Webster, 1830]
1670s, "a bottom, the bottom; foundation, groundwork," from French fond "a bottom, floor, ground" (12c.), also "a merchant's basic stock or capital," from Latin fundus "bottom, foundation, piece of land" (from PIE root *bhudh- "bottom, base," source also of Sanskrit budhnah, Greek pythmen "foundation, bottom," Old English botm "lowest part;" see bottom (n.)). Meaning "stock of money or wealth available for some purpose" is from 1690s; sense of "store of anything to be drawn upon" is from 1704. Funds "money at one's disposal" is from 1728.
1776, "convert (a debt) into capital or stock represented by interest-bearing bonds," from fund (n.). Meaning "supply (someone or something) with money, to finance" is from 1900.
"bill, placard, thing posted," 1838, from post (v.1). Poster boy/girl/child "someone given prominence in certain causes" is attested by 1990, in reference to fund-raising drives for charities associated with disability, featuring child sufferers, a feature since 1930s.
Earlier it meant "one who travels post" (c. 1600); "a post-horse" (1797). Sense of "one who posts bills" is by 1864.
short for mutual fund, 1971; see mutual.
