occupancyn.
/ˈɒkjᵿp(ə)nsi/, U.S. /ˈɑkjəp(ə)nsi/ 1.
a. The action or fact of occupying something; the condition of being an occupant; actual possession, esp. of land; (Law) the action of taking possession of something having no owner, as constituting a title to it; actual residence in a place; an instance of this. Frequently attributive. Cf. occupation n. 1, 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > [noun] > possession of a position or condition
occupation?1387
tenancy1598
tenure1616
occupancy1629
the mind > possession > [noun] > occupancy
occupying1425
occupation1433
occupancy1629
occupance1814
society > law > legal possession > [noun] > occupation as constituting title
occupation?1387
occupancy1629
occupance1814
1629 Vse of Law 29 (margin) in J. Doddridge Lawyers Light Occupancie.
1643 W. Prynne Soveraigne Power Parl. i. 100 A thing which in its owne nature is not capable of an Occupancy, nor seisible by any.
1767 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. (new ed.) II. xvi. 258 Occupancy is the taking possession of those things, which before belonged to nobody. This..is the true ground and foundation of all property.
a1826 T. Jefferson Mem. (1829) I. App. 114 Each individual of the society, may appropriate to himself such lands as he finds vacant, and occupancy will give him title.
1861 M. Pattison in Westm. Rev. Apr. 409 The occupancy of the English throne..by the line of Hanover.
1883 19th Cent. Sept. 435 The rent payable by an occupancy tenant.
1883 19th Cent. Sept. 436 Ryots..entitled to occupancy rights.
1883 Manch. Examiner 7 Nov. 5/3 The innovation of an occupancy franchise for the counties.
1884 Law Rep.: Chancery Div. 27 633 That..he should take a larger house for their joint occupancy.
1919 M. Beer Hist. Brit. Socialism I. i. ii. 15 The rights accruing from acquisition and occupancy.
1971 Springfield Republican (Mass.) 31 Oct. 79/4 (advt.) Town Houses... Applications now being taken for future occupancies.
1987 S. Weintraub Victoria (1988) ii. 39 Old, red-brick Kensington Palace, once the country seat of William and Mary, proved unready for occupancy.
b. A place that is occupied. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > [noun]
resteOE
worthineeOE
settlea900
wickc900
houseOE
erdinga1000
teld-stedec1000
wonningc1000
innOE
bewistc1200
setnessc1200
wanea1225
i-holda1250
wonec1275
wunselec1275
wonning-place1303
bigginga1325
wonning-stede1338
tabernaclea1340
siegec1374
dwelling-placec1380
lodgingc1380
seea1382
tabernaclea1382
habitationc1384
mansionc1385
arresta1400
bowerc1400
wonning-wanec1400
lengingc1420
tenementc1425
tentc1430
abiding placea1450
mansion place1473
domicile1477
lendingc1480
inhabitance1482
biding-place?1520
seat1535
abode1549
remainingc1550
soil1555
household1585
mansion-seata1586
residing1587
habitance1590
fixation1614
situation?1615
commoratorya1641
haft1785
location1795
fanea1839
inhabitancy1853
habitat1854
occupancy1864
nivas1914
downsetting1927
1864 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia IV. xvii. v. 562 The Saxon ‘Camp’, or Occupancy.
1995 Fire Prevention in High Bay Warehouses (BNC) It is not sufficient to consider only the walls and floors directly dividing the occupancies.
2. † a. The state of being occupied or busy. Cf. occupation n. 4. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun]
busyingeOE
busyOE
busyship?c1225
busyhead1340
occupation?1387
occupyinga1400
businessc1405
vacationc1450
employing1459
employment1542
entertainment1551
activity1570
trade1591
negotiation1628
engagement1661
employ1675
busyness1809
occupancy1826
carry-on1917
1826 New Monthly Mag. 16 127 A train of reflections..which his former state of professional occupancy had tended to exclude.
1843 J. Clason Serm. xvii. 295 We see heaven represented as a place of busy occupancy.
b. Telephony. The proportion of time during which a circuit or device is handling calls.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [noun] > time in use
occupancy1933
1933 Post Office Electr. Engineers' Jrnl. 26 269 (caption) Probabilities P for a delay exceeding t holding times when there are n switches with occupancy a.
1960 R. Syski Introd. Congestion Theory Teleph. Syst. vi. 365 The limit in (4.6) exists provided the traffic intensity (‘occupancy’)..is less than unity.
c. The proportion of accommodation occupied or used; a percentage expressing this; the extent to which accommodation is occupied.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > accommodation or lodging > [noun] > proportion of accommodation used
occupancy1935
1935 M. T. MacEachern Hosp. Organiz. & Managem. iii. 41 They point to an average bed occupancy in 1932, 1933 and 1934 of approximately 55 per cent.
1974 Economist 7 Sept. 51 The ‘France’ has had a 77 per cent occupancy rate on the North Atlantic run and a 91 per cent rate on winter cruises.
1989 P. Abbott & J. Shepherd Hotel & Catering Case Stud. (BNC) 33 Average daily room occupancies were as in Table 4.1.
1993 L. Pemberton Platinum Coast (BNC) 195 ‘Bums in beds? What a dreadful expression.’ Christina screwed up her face in distaste. ‘It's used all over the world—hotel trade jargon. How's occupancy? How many bums in beds?’
3. The fact of occupying or taking up space. Cf. occupation n. 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > [noun] > space occupied by something > fact or property of occupying space
extension1624
occupancy1833
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > [noun]
occupation1816
occupancy1833
1833 N. Arnott Elements Physics (ed. 5) II. 3 Such expansion or occupancy of space by a small quantity of matter.
1875 C. Lyell & L. Lyell Princ. Geol. (ed. 12) II. iii. xlii. 439 The first..tend, by the mere occupancy of space, to exclude other species.
1990 M. Mollis & S. Smith Explaining & Understanding Internat. Relations (1991) (BNC) 48 Geometry describes the properties of space and..occupancy of space is the basic property of matter.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1629