Teleworks

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. A form of employment where individuals work remotely, usually facilitated by telecommunications technology
2. A work arrangement allowing employees to perform their job duties from a location away from the traditional office environment
3. An arrangement that leverages technology to enable staff to engage in productive work outside of standard workplace settings

Etymology: "Teleworks" is the third-person singular present of "telework", so it is the same word as the verb, with the "-s" marking a subject such as "she" or "it". The verb is built from "tele-", from ancient Greek "têle", meaning "far off" or "at a distance", and the English noun "work", which here carries its usual sense of employment or labour. Put together, the compound describes labour carried out at a distance from the employer's premises. The prefix is the interesting part. "Têle" is the same Greek element found in "telephone" and "television", where it means "far" or "distant" in the sense of communication across space. Attaching it to "work" follows that pattern exactly: the job is done at a distance, with the same tools of connection that the other tele- words rely on.