Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Premium \Pre"mi*um\, n.; pl. {Premiums}. [L. praemium,
   originally, what one has got before or better than others;
   prae before + emere to take, buy. See {Redeem}.]
   1. A reward or recompense; a prize to be won by being before
      another, or others, in a competition; reward or prize to
      be adjudged; a bounty; as, a premium for good behavior or
      scholarship, for discoveries, etc.

            To think it not the necessity, but the premium and
            privilege of life, to eat and sleep without any
            regard to glory.                      --Burke.

            The law that obliges parishes to support the poor
            offers a premium for the encouragement of idleness.
                                                  --Franklin.

   2. Something offered or given for the loan of money; bonus;
      -- sometimes synonymous with interest, but generally
      signifying a sum in addition to the capital.

            People were tempted to lend, by great premiums and
            large interest.                       --Swift.

   3. A sum of money paid to underwriters for insurance, or for
      undertaking to indemnify for losses of any kind.

   4. A sum in advance of, or in addition to, the nominal or par
      value of anything; as, gold was at a premium; he sold his
      stock at a premium.

Source : WordNet®

premium
     n 1: payment for insurance [syn: {insurance premium}]
     2: a fee charged for exchanging currencies [syn: {agio}, {agiotage},
         {exchange premium}]
     3: payment or reward (especially from a government) for acts
        such as catching criminals or killing predatory animals or
        enlisting in the military [syn: {bounty}]

premium
     adj : having or reflecting superior quality or value; "premium
           gasoline at a premium price"