portfolio

Where does the word "portfolio" come from? It comes from Italian portafoglio, and was adopted directly into English (1700s).

Portfolio’s story begins in Italian: portafoglio meant “a case for carrying papers.” Literally carry-leaf, a case for carrying loose papers, from portare (to carry) and foglio (leaf). It reached English by 1700s as portfolio. Settled as the English word for a case of documents, later a collection of investments or work. Today, portfolio means a collection of documents, work samples, or financial investments.

1. Stage 1 · Italian · 1600s portafoglio "a case for carrying papers", literally carry-leaf, a case for carrying loose papers, from portare (to carry) and foglio (leaf).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1700s portfolio "a case of documents, or a collection of investments or work", settled as the English word for a case of documents, later a collection of investments or work.