<blockquote>
<p><strong>dividend (n.)</strong> <br>
early 15c. [...] from Latin dividendum &quot;thing to be divided,&quot; neuter gerundive of dividere &quot;to force apart; to distribute&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/dividend" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Online Etymology Dictionary</a></p>
<p>Thus dividends could arise in many situations. One could call a slice of cake or your share of a restaurant bill a &quot;dividend&quot;, though I have not heard of people actually doing this. The exact choice of words is not determined by economics, but by linguistic customs and practices.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-21T13:21:18.267Z
Oh, I see. I was reading Micheal Lewis's book, "The Big Short" and in a sentence, "On that day she predicted that Citigroup had so mismanaged its affairs that it would need to slash its dividend or go bust", I wondered if the dividend was the first case or second case.
ice man
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-21T14:25:38.783Z
I think it is safe to assume that they are talking about the dividend shares pay out, as Citigroup did not go bankrupt.
Giskard
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-21T12:48:06.967Z
2021-06-21T12:48:06.967Z
Giskard
<blockquote>
<p>Then came Meredith Whitney, with news. Whitney was an obscure analyst of financial firms for an obscure financial firm, Oppenheimer and Co., who, on October 31,2007, ceased to be obscure. On that day she predicted that Citigroup had so mismanaged its affairs that it would need to slash its <strong>dividend</strong> or go bust.—<em>The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine</em> by Michael Lewis—</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What kind of dividend is it in case of quote?</p>
<p>First I found meaning of dividend.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>1.A sum of money paid regularly (typically quarterly) by a company to its shareholders out of its profits (or reserves).(Lexico Dictionary)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And I got to wonder if this one possibly &quot;dividend&quot; referred in a book. And if not, what type of dividend is this?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>1.1A payment divided among a number of people, e.g., members of a cooperative or creditors of an insolvent estate.(Lexico Dictionary)</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-21T12:44:01.743Z
This seems more like a language question, not an economics question.
Giskard
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-21T15:50:05.213Z
questions of etymology belong to English language stack
1muflon1
<finance><definition>
What type of dividends are there
ice man
# What type of dividends are there

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-06-21)

> Then came Meredith Whitney, with news. Whitney was an obscure analyst of financial firms for an obscure financial firm, Oppenheimer and Co., who, on October 31,2007, ceased to be obscure. On that day she predicted that Citigroup had so mismanaged its affairs that it would need to slash its **dividend** or go bust.—*The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine* by Michael Lewis—

What kind of dividend is it in case of quote?

First I found meaning of dividend.

> 1.A sum of money paid regularly (typically quarterly) by a company to its shareholders out of its profits (or reserves).(Lexico Dictionary)

And I got to wonder if this one possibly "dividend" referred in a book. And if not, what type of dividend is this?

> 1.1A payment divided among a number of people, e.g., members of a cooperative or creditors of an insolvent estate.(Lexico Dictionary)

**Tags:** finance, definition

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This seems more like a language question, not an economics question.  
> **username_2**: questions of etymology belong to English language stack  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-06-21. Score: 2

> **dividend (n.)**   
> early 15c. [...] from Latin dividendum "thing to be divided," neuter gerundive of dividere "to force apart; to distribute"

Source: [Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/word/dividend)

Thus dividends could arise in many situations. One could call a slice of cake or your share of a restaurant bill a "dividend", though I have not heard of people actually doing this. The exact choice of words is not determined by economics, but by linguistic customs and practices.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Oh, I see. I was reading Micheal Lewis's book, "The Big Short" and in a sentence, "On that day she predicted that Citigroup had so mismanaged its affairs that it would need to slash its dividend or go bust", I wondered if the dividend was the first case or second case.  
> **username_1**: I think it is safe to assume that they are talking about the dividend shares pay out, as Citigroup did not go bankrupt.  

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