As a noun, profit is the money that remains after all costs are paid in a business. As a verb, to profit means to gain an advantage or benefit, especially financial.
From Old French *profit* 'benefit, gain', from Latin *proficere* 'to make progress, be useful' (*pro-* 'forward' + *facere* 'to do, make'). It originally meant general benefit, not just money.
Profit is really just 'progress you can count'—it’s what’s left after you subtract all the effort. In older English, you could 'profit' from wisdom or friendship, not just cash, which shows how broad the idea of gain used to be.
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