# stipend

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈstaɪpɛnd/ · frequency rank #28,742

## Definitions
1. A regular fixed payment made to someone (especially a clergyman, judge, soldier, or teacher) for services provided by them; a salary.
2. Some other form of fixed (and generally small) payment occurring at regular intervals, such as an allowance, a pension, or (obsolete) a tax.
3. A scholarship granted to a student.
4. Money which is earned; an income.
5. A one-off payment for a service provided.

## Etymology
The noun is derived from Late Middle English stipend, stipende (“salary, wage”) [and other forms], from Old French stipende, stipendie, from Latin stīpendium (“contribution; dues; impost, tax; tribute; military pay or stipend; military service”), from *stipipendium, *stippendium, from stips (“alms; contribution, donation, gift”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steyp- (“erect; stiff”)) + pendere (the present active infinitive of pendō (“to cause to hang down or suspend; to weigh, weigh out; (hence) to pay”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to pull; to spin; to stretch”)) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Italian stipendio
* Portuguese estipêndio
* Spanish estipendio

## Easily confused with
- **suspend** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stipend-vs-suspend)
- **striped** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stipend-vs-striped)
- **spend** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spend-vs-stipend)
- **stipe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stipe-vs-stipend)

## Common misspellings (11)
`sitpend`, `sstipend`, `stiepnd`, `stipedn`, `stipendd`, `stipennd`, `stipned`, `stippend`, `stpiend`, `sttipend`, `tsipend`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/stipend