self-dealing
UK[ˌself ˈdiːlɪŋ]US[ˌself ˈdiːlɪŋ]
n
The act of a person, especially someone in a position of trust (like a company director), taking advantage of a situation for personal gain, typically at the expense of the organization they are supposed to serve.
Morpheme Breakdown
self
deal
ing
self
deal
to divide, distribute, or engage in transactions
ing
Etymology
The term is a modern legal and financial compound, built entirely from native English elements. The core concept, 'deal', originates from the Old English 'dǣlan', meaning to divide or distribute, which evolved to signify conducting business transactions. Prefixed with 'self', from Old English 'self', it creates the sense of a transaction conducted for one's own benefit. The gerund suffix '-ing' nominalizes the action, resulting in a term that literally means "the action of transacting for oneself." This literal meaning directly captures the modern ethical breach: a fiduciary engaging in a transaction where they are on both sides, serving their own interest rather than that of their beneficiaries.
Analysis
Structure: self + deal + ing
self (Old English, meaning "one's own person"): A reflexive pronoun root indicating the subject's own person or interests.
deal (Old English, meaning "to divide, distribute, or engage in transactions"): A verb root indicating the act of conducting business or transactions.
ing (Old English, present participle/gerund suffix): A suffix forming a noun from a verb, indicating the action or process.
Examples
The director was accused of self-dealing for selling company property to himself at a below-market price.
Strong corporate governance policies are designed to prevent conflicts of interest and self-dealing.
The investigation found clear evidence of self-dealing in the management of the pension fund.