The practice of charging compound interest on a loan; interest earned on previously accumulated interest, sometimes considered unethical or excessive.
From Greek ana- 'up' plus tokos 'interest/offspring' plus -ism 'practice/system.' The tokos root literally means 'offspring,' used metaphorically for interest as the 'children' of money.
Medieval Christians called anatocism 'usury' and considered it a sin—yet today's credit card companies practice it legally, charging interest on your unpaid interest, sometimes reaching 29% annually.
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