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employmentn.Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: employ v., -ment suffix. Etymology: < employ v. + -ment suffix.With the β. forms compare im- prefix1. 1. the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > [noun] society > occupation and work > working > [noun] > being employed 1437 (Electronic ed.) Parl. Jan. 1437 §37. m. 2 Trewe and auctentique certification..of his said bying and employement [of money]. 1531 T. Elyot i. viii. sig. Dv There shall neither ensue any repentance, nor in the employment of his money he shall be by other disceiued. 1569 A. Golding tr. N. Hemmingsen f. 265 He tooke vpon him at Pharaos commaundement, too care for the imployment of those seuen yeres store and prouision, after a godly maner. 1604 W. Shakespeare v. i. 69 The hand of little imploiment hath the dintier sence. 1665 R. Boyle v. i. sig. Ii8v So meritorious an Imploiment of her Greatness shew'd her to be worthy of it. 1772 xxiv. 270 Monuments are almost the only instance of much employment that will admit of genius. 1799 15 Feb. 201 They differ upon the object, and still more upon the employment of the resources. 1819 S. Cooper (ed. 4) I. ii. xxxvi. 573 The employment of bandages in these cases is sanctioned by high authorities. 1845 J. H. Burton iv. iii. 349 All employments of the money by the bankrupt, will be valid until the adjudication is obtained. 1871 B. Stewart (ed. 2) 26 The superior limit of its accurate employment. 1903 202 The law regulating the employment of traction engines on public roads is the Locomotives' Act, 1898. 1963 13 110 The meaning of a word must somehow be a function of the activity of language users, of what they do in their employments of the word. 2007 A. Bay 55 All aspects of military operations involving the employment of lethal and incapacitating munitions. the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > [noun] > the use to which a thing is put 1597 W. Shakespeare i. i. 90 Lendings..he hath detaind for lewd imployments . View more context for this quotation 1658 R. Allestree viii. §11. 187 Making it less fit for any imployment. 1861 Feb. 197 The demand for capital in its usual employments has been curtailed. 1905 14 Jan. 45/3 The automobile..will stay with us if use and continued service demonstrate..that it can compete with and outdo the horse in its varied employments. 1992 R. M. Green ii. 62 The alternatives, choice in defiance of reason in one or another of its employments, or choice without reason, may be more unpalatable for a being who wishes to be rational. 2004 D. Campbell i. 20 As for the employment for which it [sc. a cannon] was actually designed, Mons Meg seems to have been seriously underused. the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] 1542 T. Becon Prol. sig. A.viiiv Yet oughte the studious endeuours and diligent employmentes of all men, tende vnto this. 1600 W. Shakespeare i. ii. 75 Is there not wars? is there not employment ? View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) v. v. 127 How wit may be made a Iacke-a-Lent, when 'tis vpon ill imployment . View more context for this quotation 1704 J. Swift 219 In my Disposure of Employments of the Brain, I have thought fit to make Invention the Master. 1741 S. Richardson III. xxxv. 345 Your Sunday Imployments, charm us all. a1817 J. Austen (1818) IV. v. 92 Anne was obliged..to walk to a distant table, and, leaning there in pretended employment, try to subdue the feelings this picture excited. 1837 F. Palgrave Ded. p.vi The character acquired for me by my employments, of being a thorough-paced black-letter antiquary. 1859 J. Priestley iv. 78 I feel all the waywardness of an invalid, and only undertake such employments as strike my fancy. 1911 M. Stuart Smith tr. L. Mühlbach iv. vii. 407 With a grave demeanor [she] examined the papers lying before her. In the midst of this employment she was interrupted by the entrance of a..peasant girl. 1927 R. Offner 123 The figures [in the painting] themselves, suggest little beyond their momentary employment. society > authority > subjection > service > [noun] 1563 R. Reynolds f. xxxv Who so hopeth in sparing costes and charges, monie or ornaments, to the behouf and imploiment of his countrie..aydeth and defendeth his naturall countrie. 1607 N. Breton (new ed.) I. sig. F4v I haue diuoted my selfe to your imploiment. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) i. i. 198 At your employment, at your seruice sir. View more context for this quotation 4. 1579 G. Gates 55 So profitable & seemly means for the succour of the poore, & for imploiment of the able people. 1598 J. Florio Ep. Ded. sig. a3v Your able emploiment of such servitours. a1618 W. Raleigh (1658) xxv. 96 This course is also commonly holden by those that by imployment of a third person would perswade any thing fained or false. 1656 S. Hunton 19 His apparent perfections, and the Parliaments continued choice employments of him, spake and evidenced for him as afore. 1702 136 It is good to compound employments of both [young and old]. 1794 (title) Thoughts on the introduction and employment of foreign troops, without the previous consent of Parliament. 1813 1 Feb. 76/2 Some men milliners deprecate the employment of women. 1858 A. R. Fausset tr. A. Vinet (ed. 2) i. iii. 115 The employment of a mediator, as Moses in the giving of the law, is not God's regular way of dealing with men. 1914 Sept. 254 Legislation should be enacted forbidding the employment of mothers in industrial establishments. 1958 31 38 One of the most characteristic Philippine patterns is the employment of a go-between..who does the real talking. 2011 (Nexis) 25 May 4 The existing law..prohibits the employment of convicted sex offenders. 1590 T. Digges 11 So did I also during that my imployment, labour to my vtmost power to haue such good Lawes and Ordinances established. 1606 R. Knolles tr. J. Bodin iii. ii. 281 That Pompee in that time might end the warre, and not longer to protract it to be so alwaies in imployment. 1665 G. Havers tr. P. della Valle 82 Bartolomeo Pontobuoni, a good Painter, and also a man of much Employment. a1680 S. Butler (1759) II. 165 He will..rather pettyfog and turn common Barreter, than be out of Employment. 1767 Ld. Holland 25 June in July (1769) 389/2 Though I have been two years out of employment, the payments for my time are not yet completed. a1797 M. Wollstonecraft (1799) v. 82 Irksome as servitude would have been to me, I should have made another trial, had it been feasible. Not that I disliked employment. 1881 30 Apr. All train men..now in employment on the road. 1940 Feb. 168 The average weekly pay packet, while in employment, of the 45 men interviewed..was 58s. 2009 (Nexis) 16 July 10 They could spend an awfully long time never having experienced employment. 1754 June 280/1 He had been upwards of ten years in the employment of Mr. B—. 1785 Aug. 604/2 Their miser is always an Englishman, has large ships, store-houses, books of accounts, an attorney in his employment, &c. 1835 J. D. Carrick 83 Rank..is not, perhaps, more strictly observed amongst any class than..amongst the servants in the employment of our Scottish farmers. 1864 10 (N.S.) 719/1 [He] was in their employment as a scaffolder. 1911 11 Under the present law an injured workman in the employment of the government has no remedy. 1969 11 June /5 Mrs. Breedlove testified that..no one in her employment had fired the shot which wounded McShepard. 2004 N. N. Taleb i. vi. 100 When I was in the employment of the New York office of a large investment house, I was subjected..to the harrying weekly ‘discussion meeting.’ 5. That which a person is employed to do. society > occupation and work > duties > [noun] > piece of work or task 1579 G. Fenton in tr. F. Guicciardini Ep. Ded. sig. iiij The high negociations and employments which he managed long time vnder great Princes, Popes, & common weales. 1607 in H. Ellis (1824) 1st Ser. III. 87 His emploiments, he saith, have been five times to Venice, once into Persia. 1615 E. Grimeston tr. P. d'Avity 971 This [sc. judging capitial and criminal offenses] being an imployment which was discharged by the kings person before they [sc. the Ephetae] were established. 1619 ii. iv. 30 Antonio. I haue an employment for you... Proberio. Well Sir, this shall be done with effect. 1660 7 [General Monck] was no sooner come to White-hall, but immediately the violent Rump prepared an employment of an unheard-of nature for him; which he obey'd, and entered the City, imprisoning some of the considerable men. 1693 J. Sage (new ed.) 57 At last they found Sir Patrick Scott of Ancrum, a discreet Gentleman who undertook it [sc. presenting a petition to Parliament]: For you must know, it was not every body that had Courage for such an imployment, as matters then went. 1754 Nov. 479/2 From the time of his taking possession of this parish, his residence was, where his heart and his employments were, in the rectory house, in the midst of his parishioners. 1759 tr. M. Venegas I. 313 These..would not permit him to oppress the Indians by forcing them to the pearl-fishery, and other laborious employments for his advantage. 1805 Sept. 174 The Bathman has many lesser employments, such as helping the porters in sweeping and cleansing the squares and courts of the hospital; in short, he is desired to render his assistance to others on all ordinary occasions. 1846 E. Bulwer-Lytton I. i. 211 I have an employment for you—a mission—your first embassy... I have to send to England a communication of the utmost importance..to the secret agent of the French government. 1892 Mar. 367 In short time the other members of the family, who had been out at their evening employments, returned. Bartley, her husband, having entered somewhat sooner than his three daughters, from milking, was the first to come in. 1588 J. Harvey 128 Professed Politicians, wise Magistrates, and learned Councellers, accordingly qualified, and furnished for the meete and sufficient discharge of so honorable emploiment. 1651 T. Hobbes ii. xxx. 181 Such as have strong bodies..are to be forced to work; and to avoyd the excuse of not finding employment, there ought to be such Lawes, as may encourage all manner of Arts..and all manner of Manifacture that requires labour. 1742 W. Warburton (ed. 3) II. iv. vi. 323 Had Jesus..made choice of the Great and Learned for this Employment. 1762 O. Goldsmith II. 218 I..went from town to town, working when I could get employment. 1820 27 Jan. He had been without employment since Christmas. 1871 C. Gibbon v The weavers obtained employment principally from the manufacturers of Kingshaven. 1917 23 94 They were employed as porters, roustabouts, and in all the various lines of menial employment. 1999 July 96/2 (advt.) Assistant Glassblower seeking employment. 2007 C. MacFarlane (2009) i. 16 Most of the local people were hard grafters and would take up any employment, usually poorly paid, just to keep themselves occupied and out of mischief. society > occupation and work > position or job > [noun] > official 1590 W. Segar iii. iv. 35 Who euer of them hath any office or employment, either it is giuen him for time or life. 1621 in (1851) II. 655 I did request for the employment of Collectorie in the present taxte. 1703 II. vi. 93 Restored to their Offices, and Employments. 1709 J. Swift 13 The Gentlemen of Employments here, make a very considerable Number in the House of Commons. 1734 tr. C. Rollin I. 309 He was appointed prætor, which seems to have been a very considerable employment. 1805 tr. A. La Fontaine IV. 44 I..entreated you to confer upon me an employment in the residentship. 1841 M. Elphinstone II. vi. i. 9 His vizír..had been long in one of the highest employments under the calif. 1923 2 147 The only question presented is whether an employment in the office of the Chief of Finance, War Department, is an employment in an executive department. 1989 A. Goldhammer tr. F. Furet in ii. 282 Ex-Constituents, ex-Girondins, [etc.]..served as his state councillors, magistrates, prefects..and in thousands upon thousands of other government employments. 2007 P. C. Tulsian vi. v X promises to pay Y Rs 50,000 if Y secures him an employment in Govt. service. This agreement is opposed to public policy. society > occupation and work > [noun] > regular occupation, trade, or profession 1598 I. D. tr. L. Le Roy vi. iv. 344 Merchaunts, Artificers, and Mercenary men..are farre worse then Husbandmen and Sheepeheards, because their employments and actions haue nothing agreeable to vertue. 1648 T. Gage (1655) xv. 102 In their imployments they are..Grasiers. 1674 D. Brevint 72 They subdivide their Emploiements..after the several sorts of Professions and Trades. 1782 J. Nichols 399 He next made some attempts in the medical line; but honestly laid them aside soon, not venturing far in an employment..where the consequences of error are so fatal. 1849 A. Alison (new ed.) I. ii. 185 They..proposed..to let every man exercise any profession..or carry on any employment. 1888 24 Apr. 1/2 His employment was one of great trust, he being the platekeeper of the Guards' mess at St. James's Palace. 1904 7 May 4/2 There are special employments where retirement on a pension has its justification. 1916 30 Dec. 237 His [sc. a soldier's] sister in the garb of a 'bus conductress, an employment which she has taken up in her brother's absence. 1999 D. Fitzpatrick in A. Porter (2009) III. 498 The prominence of British immigrants in professional, clerical, and certain skilled employments. 1896 15 June 6/1 Employment in the glass trade remains practically stationary, 14.1 per cent of union members being unemployed, compared with 14.4 in April. 1936 21 Oct. 10 Employment has fallen... In 1933 Scotland made the worst showing, with a reduction of 41 per cent in the number of men employed. 1954 5 Apr. 1/1 Failure of employment to rise in March would be a signal calling for the use of fresh anti-recessionary measures. 2011 24 Nov. 12/4 Employment picked up in the fall and the monthly jobs report never again turned negative. Compounds C1. 1873 117 Comparisons drawn from the employment record of different institutions, without reference to the general character and previous social relations of the inmates, must mislead. 1928 16 June 3/6 The Council earnestly appeals to employers to notify the Employment Officer of any vacancies for Liftmen. 1936 D. Carnegie (1981) ii. ii. 83 The employment manager..told me he would rather hire a sales girl who hadn't finished grade school, if she had a lovely smile, than a doctor of philosophy with a sober face. 1959 8 141 The social effects of employment policy should be given consideration. 1999 22 Feb. 10/4 Member states would be authorised to adjust direct aid payments according to employment levels on farms. 2005 (National ed.) 11 Dec. iv. 6/2 (advt.) It is the policy of the Department of Education of the City of New York to provide educational and employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, creed [etc.]. b. 1831 19 Mar. 5/2 Even if poor laws, or employment laws, be now granted, whence are the miserable creatures to be fed until such legislative measures may come into active operation? 1952 15 116 The common law of master and servant may be regarded as the heartland of employment law. 2007 J. Farndon (2008) i. 18 Some people put the blame for India's dearth of secure jobs on the country's restrictive employment laws. 1983 20 Sept. 12/5 Employment lawyers argue that the main dispute here was not between workers and employer. 2013 S. Sandberg vii. 95 Raising this topic in the workplace would give most employment lawyers a heart attack. 1913 12 Mar. 1/2 The house Democratic leader and the Governor condemn the movement as an attempt to get out from under the burdens of revenue legislation, road legislation and employment legislation. 2011 R. Perlin iv. 74 The Fair Labor Standards Act, like most pieces of employment legislation, only applies to organizations of a certain size. 1911 11 May Children..apply to the inspection department when seeking employment rights. 2011 R. Hensman 215 The employees' unions formed in this sector supported women's employment rights as they were then understood. 1881 3 Dec. 3/2 After the Budget only the Bill on the entrance of Hamburg into the Zollverein and that on Employment Statistics will be dealt with. 1946 19 Oct. 5/2 The employment statistics for August..suggest that people are beginning to settle down to civil work after the upheavals of war. 2005 S. G. Mezey iii. 40 The employment statistics confirm Congress's assessment of underemployment among people with disabilities. C2. society > occupation and work > working > labour supply > [noun] > employment exchange 1851 (ed. 5) 118 OGallaher's Employment Agency Office..Respectable Families provided with Governesses, Housekeepers.., &c. 1903 23 Dec. 5/2 All the corporations have resolved to support the bakers, with the object of obtaining the complete suppression of the employment agencies [in Paris]. 2004 F. Lawrence ii. 39 The same directors supplying workers to the same sites..but trading as a new employment agency under a different name. 1859 28 Aug. 2/5 According to the daily announcements of the Broadway employment agents, hundreds of every class and degree are immediately required. 1904 11 June 7/6 Marine firemen and dock labourers..attacked an employment agent who had been obtaining union men to fill the places of the strikers. 2005 T. Hall ix. 205 Big Sasa went on to explain that the dodgy employment agent had arranged for them to work for a man named Jim. society > occupation and work > working > labour supply > [noun] > employment exchange 1865 21 Jan. 3/3 (advt.) Colored domestics from the South, and experienced Northern servants, at the Freedmen's Employment Bureau. 1921 (1927) §771 Agent, employment; employment bureau manager. 2002 9 May 48/2 The institution is called TEBA, which stands for The Employment Bureau of Africa. society > law > legal obligation > contract > [noun] > other contracts 1891 46 113 The plaintiff sues for breach of contract, alleging that he entered into an employment contract with defendant for nine months' service as school-teacher. 1973 May 606/2 The Komsomol (Communist youth organization) in her district had advertised openings at Togliatti stating that a modern low-rent apartment was part of the employment contract. 2012 23 Apr. 71/2 Public-employee pensions and employment contracts, which Tony Judt thinks of as a socially binding force, are now—from Athens to Madison, Wisconsin—the object of hostility by people who don't have them and of fierce, to-the-barricades protectiveness by people who do. 1917 7 Feb. 14/3 Arthur Black Farmer, vocational advisor and employment counsellor, will give a public address. 1972 17 Apr. 45/1 It is hiring a full-time employment counselor to help them find new jobs if they are fired. 2010 J. Sangster i. 25 Job seekers are aided by an employment counsellor. 1945 54 421 It has sought as an appropriate reward for veterans a unique employment equity. 1984 (Nexis) 21 Nov. The only way to eliminate employment discrimination of women, the disabled, native people and visible minorities is by legislated ‘employment equity’, enforceable by an independent agency. 1991 M. Mackie i. 12/2 Employment equity programs..in post-secondary educational institutions..give preference in hiring, promotion, and admission to members of disadvantaged groups. 2013 (Nexis) 16 Aug. 12 If you think Indians are benefiting from affirmative action and employment equity, then you are living in cuckoo land. society > occupation and work > working > labour supply > [noun] > employment exchange 1867 14 Sept. (advt.) Strangers looking for employment..make application to S. P. Whitman, Business and Employment Exchange. 1909 11 Sept. 830/1 (heading) An employment exchange for university undergraduates. 2004 Oct. 29/2 There were 4,10,000 [sic] educated unemployed (out of a population of 2.38 million) on the rolls of employment exchanges at last count. 1896 F. J. Donohue in F. Hutchinson 335 In the matter of machinery making and engineering, it should be said that the employment figures show a gradual falling-off of late years. 1953 20 June 48/3 In secondary symphonies, the employment figure is 4,777 local members. 2009 (Nexis) 13 Aug. 14 An analysis of yesterday's employment figures by the charity revealed that the number of people aged 50 and over who were out of work had increased by 55 per cent over the past year. society > occupation and work > working > labour supply > [noun] > employment exchange 1801 19 Dec. 1/2 (advt.) London Repertory; or, General Agency and Employment Office, Lincoln's-inn-fields. 1846 13 Mar. 10/1 If a merchant or tradesman be in want of a clerk..he can make his want known..at an ‘Employment Office’. 1931 Feb. 133/2 The employment office began to disgorge the rejected job-seekers. 1985 I. Banks (2004) v. 263 On the corner..there was an employment office, where people went to sign on for dole money. 2010 (Nexis) 26 Oct. 14 I have offered my CV to employment offices in person, having seen a very suitable position in the window, and been told that there was nothing for me on their books. 1929 3 116 It would not be impossible to extend employment protection... Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands already afford some measure of protection, especially as regards night work, to employees. 1977 17 June 6/2 The compromise also involved bringing in the government's Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), whose job is to implement the Employment Protection Act. 1991 23 July b7/5 Most of the jobs..were not permanent and not subject to the employment protections afforded most school system workers. 2011 A. Walters iii. 46 She should sack him now before it was too late, before he'd been working there long enough to have employment protection. society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun] > political economy > economic forces or effects 1833 11 Feb. 2/6 He would not disgrace able-bodied men by calling laws which were intended to give employment to them by the title of poor laws... He would call it an employment rate. 1905 11 Nov. 745/2 The Poor-rate bears heavily enough on the ratepayer, but the Employment-rate will bear more heavily still. 1908 18 Apr. 846/1 The rate of employment is usually highest the year before the crisis. When this takes place there is a fall of as much as 30 per cent in the employment rate. 2011 J. Kingston 96 The employment rate for women aged 25-29 in Japan rose continuously during the first two decades of the Heisei era, reaching 71 percent by 2007. 1943 17 479/1 The agency placed a social worker..to give particular attention to..persons registering for placement who had an employment-related social problem. 1984 17 Sept. 13/4 The cost of high and rising unemployment is simply loaded on to employment-related taxes. 2008 L. Ackers & B. Gill v. 113 Family migration..has tended to be treated as distinct from and less important than employment-related migration. society > occupation and work > working > labour supply > [noun] > employment exchange 1915 (U.S. Dept. Agriculture) 20 Mar. 9 Farm Labor Employment Service. A system of distribution of wage earners, established by the Department of Labor of the United States, is now in operation. 1984 (Nexis) 15 May The program concentrates on providing employment services to women, young people..disabled people and those who live in remote areas. 2000 Spring 7/4 The BSIA also offers its support to Employment Service initiatives such as the New Deal. 1921 31 Oct. 8 (heading) An employment tribunal at work. 1979 (Nexis) 25 Jan. Many women used the courts to claim their rights to equal pay. During 1976 and 1977, some 2,500 cases of alleged discrimination were brought to employment tribunals in Britain. 2008 L. Macdonald viii. 154 Once the employee has agreed to submit to ACAS arbitration, they will, in effect, have signed away their right to pursue the claim through an employment tribunal. 1936 D. R. Taft xiv. 352 The immediate control is made effective through the requirement of entry or employment visas before admission is granted. 1961 30 Oct. 8/5 Employment visas [in Ceylon] are not granted to others, except where a Ceylonese is not available. 2006 B. Golson (2008) 55 Americans are not supposed to work in Mexico without an employment visa. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.1437 |