A payment made in advance before goods or services are fully delivered; a prepayment.
From 'fore-' (before) and 'payment' (from Old French 'paier,' meaning to pay or satisfy a debt). This compound describes paying ahead of time rather than after.
Modern subscription services like Netflix perfected the forepayment model, but the concept is ancient—landlords have demanded forepayments (rent deposits) for centuries because they wanted security before letting tenants occupy property.
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