Industry

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɪndəstɹi/

Definitions

1. The production of goods or services within an economy, or the aggregate of companies engaged in similar commercial activity
2. The sector of an economy focused on the manufacturing of products or the activities of businesses that produce goods and services for consumers
3. A group of businesses and organizations involved in the creation and distribution of goods and services within a market

Etymology: The most surprising fact is how far "industry" once leaned toward zeal and even hatred. The Latin "industria" meant diligence or activity, and it came from "industrius," meaning diligent or zealous. Its deeper roots are uncertain, but one proposed origin links it to a Latin verb meaning "burn" or "consume," as if hard work were a kind of fire that used up the worker. Old English had a related verb, "andūstrian," meaning "to hate" or "detest," literally "to be consumed with zeal." The word reached English in Middle English through Old French "industrie," carrying the sense of skill, diligence and careful effort. For centuries it described a personal quality: a person who showed industry was hardworking and purposeful. The modern sense of an economic sector came much later, as the word shifted from the virtue of the worker to the collective activity of the enterprises themselves.

Synonyms: business, manufacturing, production, trade, economy

Antonyms: leisure, idleness, inactivity, unemployment, disinterest