occupation
Pluraloccupations
- 1A regular activity, trade, or craft that someone is engaged in, especially the paid work that serves as a person's job.
He listed carpentry as his occupation when he applied for the loan.
Choosing an occupation that matches your skills can make daily work far more satisfying.
Similarjob, profession, trade, career
Note
The oldest idea in the word is seizing. Latin occupātiō, from occupō 'seize', reached English through Middle French, and the same root gives the military sense. Here what is seized is a person's time: an occupation is whatever keeps you occupied, and the paid job is its usual narrowing. Count it for a trade (a skilled occupation). Leave it uncountable for simply being busy (in need of occupation).
- 2Control of a nation or region that is imposed and maintained by a hostile military or paramilitary force.
The military occupation of the territory drew sharp condemnation from neighboring states.
Resistance networks formed quickly in the months after the occupation began.
Note
In military and political writing the word names seizure that has hardened into rule, true to Latin occupō, "seize." The occupier usually comes first (the Norman occupation, the Nazi occupation of France), with the territory after of. It counts single episodes or names the condition generally. Unlike plain possession of a place, it always carries hostility and force.
- 3The act, process, or state of taking possession of and holding a place.
Continuous occupation of the building for over a century had worn deep grooves into its floors.
Lawful occupation of the land required documented permission from the owner.
Similaroccupancy, possession, habitation
Note
Possession here need not mean ownership or residence. It is the holding of a space for use. R. C. Riley, writing in 1960 about electrifying the London–Birmingham main lines, wants engineers to have 'the longest possible occupation of the lines', meaning exclusive use of the track while work goes on. Use it countably for a particular spell of holding and uncountably for the state itself.
Practice
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Origin
It comes from Middle English occupacioun, borrowed from Middle French occupacion, from Latin occupātiō, from occupō ("occupy, seize"), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *keh₂p- ("to seize, grab"). It can be analyzed as occupy plus -ation.