Definition of earnest

< earnest

earnings >

ear·nest²    (ûrnst) KEY 

NOUN:

1. Money paid in advance as part payment to bind a contract or bargain.
2. A token of something to come; a promise or an assurance.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English ernest, variant of ernes, alteration of Old French erres, pl. of erre, pledge, from Latin arra, alteration of arrab, from Greek arrabn, earnest-money, of Canaanite origin; see rb in Semitic roots