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Finance and Tranche
In French, tranche means “slice.” Cutting deeper into the word’s etymology, we find the Old French word trenchier, meaning “to cut,” which has its likely origin in a Latin word meaning “to cut in three,” from Latin trini meaning “three each.” Tranche emerged in the English language in the late 19th century to refer to a division or portion of a larger pool or whole, and later developed a finance-specific meaning referring to an offering for sale of typically a set of bonds “cut” from a larger group of bonds, the tranche being differentiated by such factors as maturity or rate of return.
Examples of tranche in a Sentence
Ciara McCarthy 15, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 June 2026
One of the sources with knowledge of the arrangement was also quoted as saying a first tranche of $3 billion had already been made available.
—Azhar Sukri, CNBC, 13 June 2026
Together, these two tranches can be considered the legacy debt from the Glazers’ takeover.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 13 June 2026
Simultaneously, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has agreed to a private placement, injecting $10 billion by purchasing equal $5 billion tranches of Class A and Class C stocks.
—Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for tranche
Cite this Entry
“Tranche.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tranche. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
tranche
nounFrench, literally, slice, from Old French, from trenchier, trancher to cut
