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)
- a boardinghouse or small hotel.
- 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
Example sentences from the Web for pension
British Dictionary definitions for pension (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, adjectiveWord Origin for pension
C14: via Old French from Latin
pēnsiō a payment, from
pendere to pay
British Dictionary definitions for pension (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 pension
pension
Payments made to a retired person either by the government or by a former employer.