Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PROF'IT, n. [Fr. profit; It. profitto; from L. profectus, proficio, to profit, literally to proceed forward, to advance; pro and facio. The primary sense of facio is to urge or drive.]

1. In commerce, the advance in the price of goods sold beyond the cost of purchase. Net profit is the gain made by selling goods at an advanced price, or a price beyond what they had cost the seller, and beyond all costs and charges. The profit of the farmer and the manufacturer is the gain made by the sale of produce or manufactures, after deducting the value of the labor, materials, rents and all expenses, together with the interest of the capital employed, whether land, machinery, buildings, instruments or money. Let no man anticipate uncertain profits. – Rambler.
2. Any gain or pecuniary advantage; as, an office of profit or honor.
3. Any advantage; any accession of good from labor or exertion; an extensive signification, comprehending the acquisition of any thing valuable; corporeal or intellectual, temporal or spiritual. A person may derive profit from exercise, amusements, reading, study, meditation, social intercourse, religious instruction, &c. Every improvement or advance in knowledge is profit to a wise man.