Bourse

By Deane Barker • •

This is the French word meaning “stock exchange” or “merchant exchange.” It comes from a historic word meaning “meeting of merchants.”

Why I Looked It Up

I watched a Netflix series called “Rough Diamonds,” which was about the diamond trade in Antwerp. A lot of the series revolved around what happened at the bourse in Antwerp, where all the diamond merchants had offices.

Also, I had recently read an article about the new “Surat Diamond Bourse” in India, which is now the world’s largest office building.

The usage in the Netflix series is obvious, given that Belgium speaks quite a bit of French. However, it’s interesting that a building in India took the name. This means that the word has somehow achieved some significance in the diamond trade, specifically.

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