Disemployed

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. To be without a job or position, indicating a state of unemployment
2. Describing the condition of being out of work and lacking employment opportunities
3. Signifying a situation where an individual has been removed from their job and is not engaged in any work activities

Etymology: "Disemployed" is the past tense and past participle of "disemploy," a verb built in English from the prefix "dis-" and "employ." The prefix comes from Latin "dis-," meaning apart or away, and it reached English through Old French and Middle English, while "employ" arrived from Old French "employer," from Latin "implicare," meaning to enfold or involve. So the verb carries the sense of taking someone out of the enfolding or occupying role that work provided. The pattern is a familiar one. English has long attached "dis-" to verbs to reverse or remove an action, as with "disown," "dislike," and "disconnect." "Disemploy" follows the same logic, meaning to remove someone from employment. The adjective sense, "out of work," follows naturally from the verb's past participle, describing a person who has been released from paid work.

Synonyms: unemployed, jobless, laid off

Antonyms: employed, hired, occupied