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furlough

Etymology and origin of the English word furlough

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Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
Dutch verlof

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈfɜː.ləʊ/ (UK); /ˈfɝ.loʊ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Dutch verlof (“leave, permission”),[2][3][4][5][6] from Middle Dutch, from ver- “for-, completely” and lof “permission”,[3][4][5] from Proto-Indo-European *leubh- (“to care, desire, love”).[5][2] Its elements correspond to English for- and leave.[5][3] The spelling with -gh became fixed in the 1770s and represents a final f sound that was later lost.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Leave of absence, especially permission given to a soldier to be absent from duty for a stated time (1625).[7][3][4] The earliest form is vorloffe.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The word was military at first, and by 1763 was extended to general use.[7] It also named the document authorizing the leave, or a passport (a1659).[7][2] In the 20th century it was applied to temporary layoffs of workers (by 1946, originally of civilian employees of the US military) and, by 1975, to temporary releases of prisoners.[5][2][6] The verb is dated 1781 by Merriam-Webster and 1783 by the OED and Barnhart; its sense “to lay off” is from about 1940.[3][7][4][5]

Timeline

  • 1625 – vorloffe, leave of absence for a soldier.[7][3][4]
  • a1659 – a passport or permit.[7]
  • 1707 – the spelling furlow.[4]
  • 1763 – leave of absence in general.[7]
  • 1783 – verb, to grant a furlough.[7][4]
  • 1940 – verb, to lay off workers.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A leave of absence, especially one granted to a member of the armed forces.
  2. A usually temporary layoff from work.
  3. A temporary leave of absence granted to a prisoner.
  4. The document authorizing a leave.

Verb

  1. To grant a furlough to.
  2. To lay off workers, usually temporarily.
  • leave
  • love

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Furlough.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/furlough. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·