Vacation

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /vəˈkeɪ.ʃ(ə)n/

Definitions

1. A period of time when someone takes a break from work or school to rest, travel, or pursue leisure activities
2. A designated timeframe in which an individual suspends their professional or academic responsibilities to relax, explore new places, or enjoy recreational pastimes
3. An interval during which a person is free from work or educational obligations, often dedicated to traveling, resting, or engaging in leisure pursuits

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "vacation" is that its core meaning was emptiness. Latin "vacare" meant "to be empty, free, or unoccupied," and "vacātiō" was the state of being released from an obligation or duty. Long before anyone took a holiday, the idea was simply of a period when something was not being filled or required. The word reached English through Old French and Anglo-Norman, where it kept that sense of exemption or suspension, and in Middle English it could describe a time free from labor or legal business. Its modern meaning of a break from work developed from that idea of a gap in ordinary duties. Because "vacation" is formed from "vacate" plus the suffix "-ion," the verb and noun share the same root, and "vacate" still carries the sense of leaving a space empty.

Synonyms: holiday, break, leave, respite, getaway

Antonyms: work, employment