revenue-sharing
Meaning
A financial arrangement in which income or profits are distributed among participating parties.
Specifically, a government policy of distributing a portion of tax revenue with subordinate levels of government.
Structure
Usage
The new contract includes a revenue-sharing model that benefits both the developers and the platform.
Federal revenue-sharing with states helps fund essential local infrastructure projects.
The success of the partnership was largely due to a fair revenue-sharing agreement.
Etymology
The compound 'revenue-sharing' is a modern financial and political term built from two distinct historical roots. 'Revenue' traces back to the Latin revenire ('to come back'), via French, evolving from the literal sense of 'returning' to signify 'income'—that which returns or accrues periodically. 'Sharing' originates from the Old English scearu, meaning 'a cutting' or 'division', reflecting the ancient practice of physically dividing spoils or property. The fusion of these concepts in the 20th century creates a transparent logical construct: the process (-sharing) of distributing a portion of returning income (revenue), perfectly capturing the essence of the cooperative financial arrangement it describes.
Analysis
revenue: From Middle French revenue, from revenir ('to return'), from Latin revenire ('to come back'). In the word, it functions as the nominal element meaning 'income' or 'that which returns'. sharing: From the verb share, from Old English scearu ('a cutting, division'), plus the suffix -ing which forms a verbal noun. In the word, it functions as the processual element meaning 'the act of distributing'.