Retirement

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɹəˈtaɪə(ɹ).mənt/

Definitions

1. The period of life when one stops working permanently, typically due to reaching a certain age
2. A phase in life characterized by the cessation of professional work, often due to age or personal decision, which may include accessing financial benefits or savings
3. A stage in a person's life when they discontinue their professional career, usually influenced by age or choice, potentially involving the use of pensions or savings

Etymology: Retirement began as a military word. In French, "retirer" meant to withdraw, and a "retraite" was a withdrawal, especially of troops from the field. English borrowed the French noun "retirement" in the sense of a secluded place, a private withdrawal from company, before the sense of leaving one's career took hold. The word therefore first described a place or state of seclusion, the quiet corner a person retreated to, and only later the act of stepping away from working life. The word is built from the verb "retire," which came into English from French, with the suffix "-ment" attached. That suffix, which turns a verb into a noun for an action or its result, is common in French and English words of this kind, such as "government" and "judgement." The sense of permanently stopping work came later, once people began to leave active employment at a set age. Dictionaries record the broader working-life meaning as a development of the older idea of withdrawal, so the modern sense still carries the original notion of stepping back from the field.

Synonyms: withdrawal, resignation, departure, cessation, exit

Antonyms: employment, work, engagement, activity, involvement