In medieval finance, an agreement or loan obtained through negotiations, often with questionable ethics or high interest rates.
From Old French chevisance meaning 'agreement' or 'arrangement,' derived from chevir meaning 'to achieve' or 'to manage,' possibly with undertones of 'scheming' or 'arranging dubiously.'
Medieval merchants and nobles used chevisance when they needed money badly—it was technically a loan, but the lender held such power that it often felt like being trapped, which is probably why the word picked up connotations of financial trickery and why modern lending practices have safeguards.
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