Stakeholder

Posted by TheFallen on September 11, 2002

In Reply to: Stakeholder posted by Kirsten Bæk on September 11, 2002

: What does the word stakeholder mean, and where does it come from?

STAKEHOLDER
NOUN: 1. One who holds the bets in a game or contest. 2. One who has a share or an interest, as in an enterprise.

My limited sources say origins for this usage of "stake" - where it means a wager, or a speculative investment - are unclear, but perhaps come from Middle English, where it may have been customary to place an object as a wager on a post or stake.

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