The origin of this word

The word portfolio derives 源于 from the Italian word 意大利词语 portafogli.

Portare means carry 携带 and foglio means leaf 树叶.

The basic meaning

The basic idea of portfolio is a portable case containing documents and papers. But it has a few other metaphorical usages.

Metaphorical usages

It can mean a collection of creative work to be shown to potential customers or employers.

It can also mean the position and duties of a government minister

She might be saying, "I've got a wonderful portfolio to show you."

In financial terms it can mean the complete investments held by an individual investor or by a financial organization.

Yang Li and William Kremer explain the various meanings by giving out some specific examples of everyday conversations.

If you have a question for our team, send it to us at questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk and we might answer it on this programme.

Glossary

derive from 源于

portable 可携带的/手提的

metaphorical usages 比喻的用法

potential 有潜在可能性的

the complete investment 有价证券之总和或投资一览表