treasury
UK: ˈtreʒəri | US: ˈtreʒəri
n. 1. A place or building where valuables, especially money or financial assets, are stored.
n. 2. The funds or revenue of a government, corporation, or institution.
n. 3. A collection of literary or artistic works (e.g., "a treasury of poems").
treasury = treas<store> + ure<noun suffix> + y<noun suffix>
- treas (from Old French tresor "treasure," ultimately from Latin thesaurus "hoard, store")
- ure (noun-forming suffix indicating function or result, from Latin -ura)
- y (diminutive or noun-forming suffix, often denoting a place or collection, from Old French -ie)
Etymology Origin:
The word treasury traces back to the Latin thesaurus, meaning "storehouse" or "hoard." Through Old French tresor, it entered Middle English as tresorie, evolving into treasury by the 14th century. The morpheme treas- preserves the core idea of "storing valuables," while -ure and -y transform it into a noun denoting a place or institution. The term reflects the historical role of treasuries as safeguarded repositories for wealth, later extending metaphorically to collections of knowledge or art.
The national treasury holds the country’s gold reserves.
The company’s treasury manages its cash flow and investments.
This anthology is a treasury of classic literature.
The medieval treasury was looted during the war.
She works in the treasury department of a major bank.