Fiscal is used to describe things relating to money and especially to the money a government, business, or organization earns, spends, and owes.

// The recent change in leadership was essential for addressing the fiscal health of the university.

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“The Town of Java [New York] ... has received exemplary audits from the State Comptroller’s Office, while continuing to streamline government and demonstrate fiscal responsibility.” — The Daily News (Batavia, New York), 13 Feb. 2026

Fiscal comes from the Latin noun fiscus, meaning “basket” or “treasury.” In ancient Rome, fiscus was the term for the treasury controlled by the emperor, where the money was literally stored in baskets and was collected primarily in the form of revenue from the provinces. Fiscus also gave English confiscate, which is most familiar as a verb meaning “to seize by or as if by authority,” but can additionally refer to the forfeiting of private property to public use. Today, we often encounter fiscal in “fiscal year,” a 12-month accounting period not necessarily coinciding with the calendar year.