An archaic term for advance payment, credit, or a loan given in expectation of future repayment or return.
From Old French 'avance,' from 'avancer' (to advance), derived from Latin 'abante' (from before). The term dates to medieval commerce and gradually fell out of use.
In Elizabethan theater, 'avance' was how playwrights and actors funded productions—they'd borrow money as an avance against future profits, making Shakespeare's time surprisingly modern in its financing practices.
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