Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A very small, often short-term loan made to an impoverished entrepreneur, as in an underdeveloped country.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun banking A small loan, especially one extended to a poor person as part of a microcredit program of such lending intended to alleviate poverty.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

micro- +‎ loan

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Examples

Comments

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  • I love this word because it signifies a unique and seemingly effective method of making this world a better place.

    See www.kiva.org, for instance.

    September 27, 2008

  • I'm a big fan of kiva! That's why I was surprised no one had listed microfinance. :)

    September 27, 2008

  • I initially heard about Kiva from a guy who worked for a different microloan nonprofit in DC. It's encouraging to see the # of repaid loans vs. the # of defaulted loans. The overwhelming majority of these folks make good, which is more than the average American can say.

    September 27, 2008

  • Ditto, c_b. There's also FINCA. :-)

    September 29, 2008