To have enough money to pay for something, or to be able to do something without serious consequence or loss.
From Old English 'geforthian' combining 'ge-' (completely) and 'forthian' (to further, promote). By the 1300s it meant 'to provide or supply,' evolving to 'to have means for' by the 1500s.
The phrase 'afford' originally meant 'to advance toward or promote' and only gradually shifted to meaning 'to have money for'—showing how everyday financial anxiety literally changed English grammar over centuries.
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