late Middle English : from Old French bougette, diminutive of bouge 'leather bag', from Latin bulga 'leather bag, knapsack', of Gaulish origin. Compare with bulge The word originally meant a pouch or wallet, and later its contents. In the mid 18th cent., the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in presenting his annual statement, was said ‘to open the budget’ . In the late 19th cent. the use of the term was extended from governmental to private or commercial finances