Occupation

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌɒkjʊˈpeɪʃən/

Definitions

1. A person's regular job, profession, or the act of taking control of a place by military force
2. The regular employment or profession someone follows to earn a living ; the action of gaining control over a place, especially by military means
3. The type of work or career an individual routinely performs ; the process of seizing or holding a territory or property

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "occupation" is how little its modern sense of a job owes to the idea of seizing something. Its Latin ancestor, "occupātiō", meant the act of taking hold of something, and its verb "occupō" meant to seize or take possession, a sense it kept in English for the military and property meanings. The job sense grew out of the idea of an activity that keeps someone busy and occupies their time, so a trade became the thing a person is "occupied" with. The word came into English through Middle French "occupacion" and entered Middle English as "occupacioun". Its shape reflects the English verb "occupy" with the suffix "-ation", which turns an action into a noun, so "occupation" is the act or result of occupying. The Latin verb is ultimately traceable to a much older root meaning to grab, which explains why the word's oldest English sense is about seizing land or goods.

Synonyms: employment, profession, vocation

Antonyms: unemployment