Timecard

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A record of the hours an employee has worked ; a card on which arrival and departure times are punched or written
2. The log of time an employee spends on the job ; a card used to stamp in and out at the start and end of work
3. A document tracking how many hours staff have worked ; a punch card that registers when workers arrive and leave

Etymology: The word is a plain compound: "time" joined to "card," a card on which the hours worked by an employee are recorded. Its second element is the familiar "card" in the sense of a piece of stiff paper, which the term used when employers began keeping such records. Its relationship with "time chart" is more interesting. The two terms are piecewise doublets: each word is built from the same two pieces, "time" and a word for a sheet or chart, and they arrived at the same meaning by parallel routes. Both describe a record that tracks when work happens, one as a card and one as a chart, so the two phrases developed side by side rather than one borrowing from the other.

Synonyms: timesheet, time sheet, clock card