furlough
/ˈfəːləʊ
/noun [mass noun]
Leave of absence, especially that granted to a member of the services or a missionary: a civil servant home on furlough [count noun]: a six-week furlough in Australia...
- The only restrictions placed on officers granting furloughs limited leaves to no more than thirty days for 5 percent of the unit at one time.
- I had a 10-day furlough from Louisiana, and the trip home took three days each way.
- His occasional trips to England, on furlough or for training, were when he felt most out of water.
verb [with object] (usually as adjective furloughed) US
Grant leave of absence to: furloughed workers
Origin
Early 17th century: from Dutch verlof, modelled on German Verlaub, of West Germanic origin and related to leave2.