Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CASH, n. [Fr. caisse; Sp. and Port. caxa, a chest, box, coffer. See Case.]

Money; primarily, ready money, money in chest or on hand, in bank or at command. It is properly silver and gold; but since the institution of banks, it denotes also bank notes equivalent to money. To pay in cash is opposed to payment in goods, commodities, or labor, as in barter.