pension

[ pen-shuh n; French pahn-syawn for 3 ]
/ ˈpɛn ʃən; French pɑ̃ˈsyɔ̃ for 3 /

noun, plural pen·sions [pen-shuh nz; French pahn-syawn for 3] /ˈpɛn ʃənz; French pɑ̃ˈsyɔ̃ for 3/.

a fixed amount, other than wages, paid at regular intervals to a person or to the person's surviving dependents in consideration of past services, age, merit, poverty, injury or loss sustained, etc.: a retirement pension.
an allowance, annuity, or subsidy.
(in France and elsewhere in continental Europe)
  1. a boardinghouse or small hotel.
  2. room and board.

verb (used with object)

to grant or pay a pension to.
to cause to retire on a pension (usually followed by off).

Origin of pension

1325–75; Middle English (< Old French pensïon) < Latin pēnsiōn- (stem of pēnsiō) a weighing out, hence, a paying out, installment paying, equivalent to pēns(us) (past participle of pendere to weigh out, pay by weight, equivalent to pend- verb stem + -tus past participle suffix, with dt > s) + -iōn- -ion

OTHER WORDS FROM pension

Words nearby pension

pensacola bay, pensel, penshurst place, pensil, pensile, pension, pension fund, pension mortgage, pension off, pension plan, pensionary

British Dictionary definitions for non-pensionable (1 of 2)

pension 1
/ (ˈpɛnʃən) /

noun

a regular payment made by the state to people over a certain age to enable them to subsist without having to work
a regular payment made by an employer to former employees after they retire
a regular payment made to a retired person as the result of his or her contributions to a personal pension scheme
any regular payment made on charitable grounds, by way of patronage, or in recognition of merit, service, etc a pension paid to a disabled soldier

verb

(tr) to grant a pension to

Derived forms of pension

pensionable, adjective pensionless, adjective

Word Origin for pension

C14: via Old French from Latin pēnsiō a payment, from pendere to pay

British Dictionary definitions for non-pensionable (2 of 2)

pension 2
/ French (pɑ̃sjɔ̃) /

noun (in France and some other countries)

a relatively cheap boarding house
another name for full board

Word Origin for pension

C17: French; extended meaning of pension grant; see pension 1

Cultural definitions for non-pensionable

pension

Payments made to a retired person either by the government or by a former employer.