Etymologically
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occupancy

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 22:55. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • US: /ˈɑk.jə.p(ə)n.(t)si/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English occupant + -ancy.[2][3][4][5] occupant is partly from Middle French occupant and partly occupāns, the present participle of occupō (“to take possession of”), the source of occupy.[2][4] Johnson derived occupancy directly from the Latin participle.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The condition of being an occupant: in the 1590s, according to Etymonline and the Shorter Oxford.[4][3] The OED's first quotation, from 1629, is a legal one, on taking possession of land.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In early use the word was mainly legal: the taking of possession of land, or of something without an owner, which could give title to it.[2][3][5] Johnson (1755) defined it simply as the act of taking possession.[6] In the 19th century it was briefly used for being occupied or busy (1826–43),[2] and since 1833 it has meant the fact of taking up space.[2][4] In the 20th century it acquired statistical senses: the proportion of time a telephone circuit is in use (1933), and the proportion of rooms, beds or other accommodation that is occupied (1935).[2] Etymonline dates the second of these to 1974.[4]

Timeline

  • 1590s – the condition of being an occupant.[4][3]
  • 1629 – the act of taking possession, especially of land, in law.[2][5]
  • 1826 – the state of being busy (obsolete by 1843).[2]
  • 1833 – the fact of taking up space.[2][4]
  • 1864 – a place that is occupied.[2]
  • 1933 – in telephony, the share of time a circuit handles calls.[2]
  • 1935 – the share of accommodation that is occupied.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of occupying a place, or the condition of being an occupant, especially a tenant: The new owners took up occupancy in May.[7][5][2]
  2. The period during which a place is occupied.[7]
  3. (law) The taking of possession of something that has no owner, especially land, so as to acquire title to it.[7][5][2]
  4. (law) The holding and use of property, as under a lease, without a claim to ownership.[7][5]
  5. The proportion of rooms, seats or other accommodation that is occupied: hotel occupancy fell during the winter.[2][3]

Word family

  • preoccupancy
  • unoccupancy

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins