prest
/prɛst/Now historical and rare
noun
1A payment or wages in advance; money paid on account to enable a person to proceed with an undertaking.
- auditor of the prests: an official position in the Exchequer..
2An advance of money; a loan; especially one made to a monarch in an emergency; a forced loan; a bequest, gift, or grant.
3A charge, duty, or tax; a deduction made from or in connection with a payment.
Origin
Late Middle English. From Anglo-Norman and Middle French prest (French prêt) action of putting a thing at a person's disposal, action of lending, a thing lent, an advance of money, money allocated in advance to soldiers and non-commissioned officers for petty expenses, wages paid in advance, in Anglo-Norman also alms, a gift from prester.