Definitions

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

  • noun A portion of a total, especially of a block of assets such as cash or securities.
  • noun A cut or slice of meat.

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

  • noun A slice, section or portion.
  • noun finance One of a set of classes or risk maturities which comprise a multiple-class security, such as a CMO or REMIC; a class of bonds; collateralized mortgage obligations are structured with several tranches of bonds that have various maturities.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a portion of something (especially money)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, slice, tranche, from Old French trenche, slice, from trenchier, to slice, cut; see trench.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Borrowing from French tranche, form of trancher ("to cut, to slice"), from Old French trenchier ("cut, make a cut"). Cognate to English trench.

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Examples

  • Mr. Poetsch confirmed that Porsche plans a capital increase of up to € 5 billion in the first half of 2011, mainly to repay a € 2.5 billion credit tranche from a syndicated loan, which is due June 30, 2011.

    Volkswagen May Delay Porsche Merger Christoph Rauwald 2010

  • The equity tranche is supposed to be very high risk and carries commensurate high yields.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » The Goldman Fraud Suit 2010

  • The more-conservative investors, insurance companies, chose the longest-term tranche; money managers settled in the middle.

    Altria Lights Up 2008

  • When the rate changes or the principle changes or the homeowner defaults, the tranche is removed from the bond, thus lowering it’s value.

    Matthew Yglesias » Maybe Geithner Knows What He’s Doing 2009

  • I use the word tranche all the time :-) In fact, last week I was and still am) extremely worried about certain tranches.

    Palpatinian tranche. Ann Althouse 2008

  • The prices were slightly lower than the initial guidance on the senior unsecured bonds, which had been two percentage points on the shorter-term tranche and 2.15 percentage points on the longer-term tranche.

    New Securities Issues 2010

  • The offshore-yuan tranche, with a three-year-maturity, is likely to be around 2.25 billion yuan in size and the dollar tranche, which is expected to mature in five years, should be around $150 million.

    Japanese Yields Fall Megumi Fujikawa 2011

  • And I hope that the next TARP tranche, that is, the next bailout of Wall Street that is coming, actually has very, very clear limitations on executive salaries if not a claw-back on the bonuses that have already been paid.

    CNN Transcript Feb 1, 2009 2009

  • A tranche is a specific class of bonds within an offering wherein each tranche offers varying degrees of risk to the investor.

    Moody's Cuts Its Ratings 2008

  • Already, over 100 beds have been released as a result of the first tranche, which is an additional £4 million in funding.

    Archive 2003-11-01 2003

Comments

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  • Ancestry in the French for "cut" distinguishes such a "portion" from being merely an installment or just another bite out of the apple.

    March 1, 2009

  • I've been looking for this word, only heard due to Congress talk about TARP.

    Sentence: "the Secretary is required to deliver Monthly Reports to Congress that set forth the acts he has taken under TARP, the administrative expenses incurred and detailed financial statements. The Secretary is also required to deliver Tranche Reports to Congress for every $50 billion in troubled assets purchased that set forth a detailed description of all transaction."

    from http://www.thompsonhine.com/publications/publication1543.html

    Your synonyms for this didn't seem good BUT I LOVE YOUR SITE, PROJECT AND IDEAS. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. (Um...maybe put Definitions in the center column of your web page and how the word is used one column to the right. After all, people first think of getting the DEFINITION of the word from a dictionary.

    Maybe tranche should also be indicated as a synonym of words like: annuity, or payment or installment...? Anyhow, now this word is in popular coinage and it's taken me weeks to hunt it down. Sincerely. Best of luck with your great project.

    March 31, 2009

  • "China's moves to distance itself from Kim are revealed in the latest tranche of leaked US embassy cables published by the Guardian and four international newspapers."

    – Simon Tisdall, "Wikileaks cables reveal China 'ready to abandon North Korea'", The Guardian, 29 November 2010

    November 30, 2010

  • The Obama administration has been evaluating military and other aid to Egypt in recent weeks. But Earnest told reporters that no decision has been made about U.S. aid.

    “This is not a faucet in which you just turn the spigot, and assistance continues to flow,” Earnest said, using a metaphor he repeated throughout the briefing. “Assistance is provided episodically, assistance is provided in tranches.”

    – The Washington Post 8/20/13

    August 23, 2013