我们经常可以在媒体上看到"底线"一词。如某记者推测某市"接收和医治SARS病人的底线是6000人。""坚持一个中国原则是我们的底线。"等等。如今，汉语中出现了许多新词，其中不少是外来语，那么"底线"一词是汉语先有的呢，还是从英语的"bottom line"翻译来的呢？

If you zoom out and look at the big picture, the challenge of improving your bottom line optimization is simple – theoretically, at least. You can increase your revenue, you can lower your expenses, ...

The "bottom line" is colloquially used as a metaphor to refer to "the essential or salient point" of a discussion. The term originally came from accounting. On an income statement, the top line is ...