furlough
noun
- extended period of leave from military service or imprisonment to return home
- temporary leave of employees due to special needs of a company or employer
verb
- to grant furlough or leave to
- to lay off
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈfɜː.ləʊ/ / /ˈfɝ.loʊ/ / /ˈfɜː.ləʉ/
name
Etymology: English surname, probably a variant of Farlow.
- A surname.
noun
Etymology: From Dutch verlof (“furlough”), probably from Middle Low German verlōf (“furlough, permission”) (possibly via German Verlaub), from the verb verlōven (“to allow”), from Old Saxon far- + lōvian (“to trust, believe”). From Middle Low German also German Verlaub, Danish forlov. Doublet of leave.
- A leave of absence or vacation.
“And I had a lot of things on my mind and I pretty well forgot my promise to Mama until I got shipped home on a special furlough for her funeral.”
- A leave of absence or vacation.
- The documents authorizing such leave.
- A period of unpaid time off, used by an employer to reduce costs.
“The state estimates the one-day-a-month furlough spread over the 18 months of the plan would amount to a 5 percent cut in pay.”
verb
Etymology: From Dutch verlof (“furlough”), probably from Middle Low German verlōf (“furlough, permission”) (possibly via German Verlaub), from the verb verlōven (“to allow”), from Old Saxon far- + lōvian (“to trust, believe”). From Middle Low German also German Verlaub, Danish forlov. Doublet of leave.
- To grant a furlough to (someone).
- To have (an employee) not work in order to reduce costs; to send (someone) on furlough.
“This implies, for example, that firms should not revise their estimated production capacity downwards when furloughing workers, but should do so after laying off staff permanently.”