Occupations

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɑkjəˈpeɪʃənz/

Definitions

1. Various fields or careers that individuals pursue to gain economic support and satisfy personal ambitions
2. A collection of jobs or professional roles undertaken by people to achieve financial stability and personal fulfillment
3. Different kinds of jobs or professions that people engage in to earn a living and develop skills

Etymology: Latin "occupatio" meant seizing or taking possession, and its verb "occupare" was built from "ob-" ("against, towards") and "capere" ("to take"). The root sense of physical grabbing survives in English. Medieval English used "occupation" largely for capturing or holding a place by force, and an army could be said to occupy a city in exactly that sense. Only later did the word come to mean the activity that keeps someone busy. The plural "occupations" is simply the form of "occupation" used for more than one such activity. The English word arrived from Middle French, which had taken it from Latin, and its early uses were centred on possession and control rather than employment.

Synonyms: jobs, professions, vocations, trades, positions

Antonyms: unemployment, idleness, inactivity, leisure, retirement