Payslip

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A slip of paper or electronic statement that itemizes an employee's wages, taxes and other deductions for a pay period
2. A document given to workers each pay period detailing gross earnings, withheld amounts and the net sum received
3. An official record issued by an employer showing how much an employee earned and what was subtracted from that total

Etymology: A payslip is, quite literally, a slip of paper that goes with your pay. The "slip" half is the older and more interesting piece: it comes from a Middle English and Germanic-rooted sense of a small strip or piece cut off from something larger, the same idea behind a slip of paper or a slip of the tongue, where something small breaks loose. Attached to "pay," the compound names the small document that records what was paid out, so the employee can see how the total was reached. The word is a plain compound, formed in English from two native elements rather than borrowed from another language. Its meaning stays close to its parts, so there is little semantic drift to trace beyond the everyday sense of each piece.

Synonyms: pay stub, wage slip, pay advice