Interest-free means borrowed without any charge for the credit. An interest-free loan, interest-free credit, twelve months interest-free.
It is genuinely free only if the whole balance is cleared before the period ends, and missing that is where the money is made. Islamic finance is built on avoiding interest entirely and structures deals another way.
1adjectiveinterest-freeBorrowed without any charge for the credit.
“The shop offered an interest-free loan to spread the cost of the sofa over a year.”
interest-free is a quality.
Interest plus free, from Latin interesse, to make a difference or matter.
Proto-Indo-European
*h₁es-
Latin
intersum
Medieval Latin
intersum
Old French
interesse
Middle English
interest
English
interest
English, today
interest-free
From interest + free. interest comes from Middle English interest, from Old French interesse and interest (French intérêt), from Medieval Latin intersum, from Latin intersum.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA