pension
Definitions
A regular payment made to someone who has retired from work
养老金，退休金
To dismiss someone with a pension (usually 'pension off')
（常作 pension off）发给退休金让其退休
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedpens (from Latin pendere/pensus, 'to weigh out, pay out') + -ion (noun) = 'a paying out.' Because the Romans paid by weighing out metal, pensio meant a payment or installment. English narrowed it to one specific kind of regular payment: the money weighed out to you, on schedule, after you stop working.
Root pend still carries 32 more wordsUsage Guide
- Noun (common): retirement pension, pension plan/scheme — the standard sense.
- Verb 'pension off': informal-leaning, means to retire someone (often against their wishes) with a pension; also used jokingly of old objects: time to pension off that car.
- British vs American: 'pension' is the everyday word in BrE; AmE often prefers 'retirement plan' or '401(k)' for workplace schemes.
- Note: in some European contexts 'pension' (a small hotel/boarding house) is a separate borrowing — don't confuse it with retirement money.
Example Sentences
- 1.
She receives a small pension every month after retiring.
- 2.
The company pays into a pension fund for all its staff.
- 3.
He was pensioned off early because of his poor health.