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retiree

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Etymology and origin of the English word retiree

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1935 Washington Post More words from the 20th century
Ultimate origin
Old French tirer
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English retire
English retiree

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ɹɪˌtaɪ.əˈɹiː/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English retire + -ee.[2][3][4][5] Retire is from French retirer (“to withdraw”), formed from re- (“back”) and Old French tirer (“to draw”).[3] The older English word for such a person was retirer, recorded from the 16th century, one who retires or withdraws.[3] The OED compares the earlier use of retired as a noun.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who has retired, especially for good, from employment: 1935, in the Washington Post.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The 1989 edition of the OED, Etymonline and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate dated the word to 1945,[6][3][7] and Dictionary.com places it in 1940–45 and marks it as an Americanism;[5] the revised OED and Merriam-Webster Unabridged give the earlier record of 1935.[2][4]

Timeline

  • 1935 – a person who has retired from work.[2][4] Etymonline and the 1989 edition of the OED give 1945.[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person who has retired from working life, especially for good: Most of the choir's members are retirees from the old textile mill.[8][4][2][9]

Usage notes

Collins labels the word chiefly American,[8] and Dictionary.com calls it an Americanism.[5]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Retiree.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/retiree. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·