fiscal

1 of 2

adjective

fis·​cal ˈfi-skəl How to pronounce fiscal (audio)
1
: of or relating to taxation, public revenues, or public debt
fiscal policy
the city's fiscal requirements
2
: of or relating to financial matters
fiscal transactions
fiscally adverb

fiscal

2 of 2

noun

Did you know?

Fiscal derives from the Latin noun fiscus, meaning "basket" or "treasury." In ancient Rome, fiscus was the term for the treasury controlled by the emperor, where the money was literally stored in baskets and was collected primarily in the form of revenue from the provinces. Fiscus also gave English confiscate, which is most familiar as a verb meaning "to seize by or as if by authority," but it can additionally refer to the forfeiting of private property to public use. Today, we often encounter fiscal in "fiscal year," a 12-month accounting period not necessarily coinciding with the calendar year.

Examples of fiscal in a Sentence

Adjective the fiscal health of the university gained some fiscal knowledge by taking an economics course
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The Michael Kors brand lost $766 million in U.S. sales from fiscal 2019 to 2024. Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024 His remarks followed a meeting of top leaders in late September led by Chinese President Xi Jinping, which called for strengthening fiscal and monetary policy. Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2024
Noun
Its imports from Moscow in the last fiscal until February were nearly 15 times its shipments back to Russia, according to India’s trade ministry data. Mimansa Verma, Quartz, 11 May 2023 Medtronic expects organic revenue growth of around 4% in the second half of the current fiscal. Trefis Team, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2023 See all Example Sentences for fiscal 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fiscal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Latin fiscalis, from fiscus basket, treasury

First Known Use

Adjective

1563, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1869, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fiscal was in 1563

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Dictionary Entries Near fiscal

Cite this Entry

“Fiscal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fiscal. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

fiscal

adjective
fis·​cal
ˈfis-kəl
1
: of or relating to public finances
2
: of or relating to financial matters
fiscally
-kə-lē
adverb

Legal Definition

fiscal

adjective
fis·​cal ˈfis-kəl How to pronounce fiscal (audio)
1
: of or relating to taxation, public revenues, or public debt
fiscal policy
2
: of or relating to financial matters
fiscally adverb
Etymology

Adjective

Latin fiscalis, from fiscus basket, treasury

More from Merriam-Webster on fiscal

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