Timesheets

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Logs or forms that record the hours an employee has worked over a period ; the plural of a single record of working time
2. Documents tracking how many hours staff spent on tasks ; more than one sheet used to log the time people have put into their jobs
3. Attendance and work-hour records kept for payroll or project billing ; multiple forms on which working periods are noted down

Etymology: "Timesheets" is simply the plural of "timesheet", a compound of "time" and "sheet". The first element is the Old English "tima", meaning a period or point in time, and the second is the Old English "scēat", a broad piece of material, later applied to paper. Put together, the compound describes a sheet on which hours worked are recorded against the clock. The plainness of the formation is the point: nothing in the word is metaphorical, and each part keeps its everyday sense. A sheet of paper ruled for times is exactly what the name promises, and the same logic carries over to modern versions, whether printed forms or entries in a software system.