employment
/emˈplɔɪmənt/em-PLOY-muhnt
/ɛmˈplɔɪmənt/em-PLOY-muhnt
Meaningthe act of using
Common meaning: paid work
Other meanings: the use of something
- emin
- ployto foldLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1387 · scan
- mentnoun ending: act or result
‘in’ + ‘to fold’ → employment
Journey through time
- Latinplicō, plicāvī‘to fold’
- Old Frenchemployersource
- Englishemploy‘to give work to’
- Englishformed in English from employemployment‘paid work’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from employ + -ment.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), EMPLOY, p.189 · scan
Roots
- plicō, plicāvī Latin “to fold”
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