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retirement

Etymology and origin of the English word retirement

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1596
Borrowed from
Middle French retirement
Ultimate origin
French (retirer)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /rɪˈtaɪə.mənt/, US /rɪˈtaɪ.ɚ.mənt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French retirement (1570s),[2][3] from retirer “to retire”, with the suffix -ment;[3][2] it is also explained as formed from retire and -ment.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of falling back or retreating: 1596 in the OED, the 1590s in Etymonline.[4][2] MWU dates its first known use to 1536.[3]

Semantic evolution

The act of withdrawing into seclusion is from 1599,[4] and the state of being withdrawn from society, privacy, from 1603.[4][2] A secluded place, a retreat, is from 1652–1662.[4] Withdrawal from one's occupation or business, the main modern sense, is from 1648, the 1640s in Etymonline.[4][2] The Century Dictionary distinguished it from solitude and seclusion: retirement is comparative solitude produced by withdrawing from contact one has had with others.[2] Compounds such as retirement age and retirement home are modern.[1][5]

Timeline

  • 1536 – first known use.[3]
  • 1596 – a retreat, falling back.[4]
  • 1599 – withdrawal into seclusion.[4]
  • 1603 – the state of seclusion.[4]
  • 1648 – withdrawal from work or office.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of leaving one's job or career, usually because of age.
  2. The period of a person's life after they have retired.
  3. (literary) Withdrawal into privacy or seclusion, or a secluded place.

Word family

  • semiretirement
  • preretirement
  • postretirement
  • nonretirement
  • retirement community
  • retire
  • retiree

Usage notes

In the 19th-century view of the Century Dictionary, seclusion is stronger than retirement, implying being shut off from others.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

  • die · also from French
  • modern · also from French
  • huge · also from French
  • ball · also from French
  • respect · also from French
  • standard · also from French
  • rock · also from French
  • pain · also from French
Cite this entry

“Retirement.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/retirement. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·