illiquid
UK[ɪˈlɪkwɪd]US[ɪˈlɪkwɪd]
adj
(of an asset) not easily converted into cash.
adj
(of a market) characterized by a lack of buyers and sellers, making it difficult to trade assets without affecting their price.
Morpheme Breakdown
il
liquid
il
not
liquid
Etymology
the word 'illiquid' is a modern financial term constructed from the well-established english adjective 'liquid' and the negative prefix 'il-'. 'liquid' entered english from latin liquidus, meaning fluid or flowing, which itself derives from the verb liquere, to be fluid. in financial contexts from the 18th century onward, 'liquid' metaphorically described assets that flow easily into cash, much like a fluid. by adding the assimilated negative prefix 'il-' (from latin 'in-'), the term 'illiquid' was formed to precisely describe the opposite condition: assets or markets that are not fluid, and therefore cannot be easily converted or traded without significant difficulty or loss of value.
Analysis
Structure: il (not) + liquid
il: a latin-derived prefix meaning "not" or "without," a variant of 'in-' used before words beginning with 'l'.
liquid: from latin liquidus (fluid, flowing), here used in its financial sense meaning readily convertible into cash.
Examples
the company held many illiquid assets, such as real estate and specialized machinery, which made it hard to raise funds quickly.
during the crisis, even typically stable markets became illiquid, with very few buyers willing to trade.
his investment portfolio was criticized for being too illiquid, leaving him vulnerable in an emergency.