furlough
English
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furlough¹
- /ˈfɜː.ləʊ/ UK
- /ˈfɝ.loʊ/ Canada, US
- /ˈfɜː.ləʉ/ Australia
- /ˈføː.lɐʉ/ New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)ləʊ
Where it comes from
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.
noun furloughs
- Especially one granted to a member of the armed forces, or to a prisoner. 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.
- Especially one granted to a missionary.
- 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 furloughs · furloughing · furloughed
- 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.
Furlough²
Where it comes from
English surname, probably a variant of Farlow.
proper noun Furloughs
- A surname.
Translations
Every language
noun leave of absence
| Español | permiso, dispensa, licencia |
|---|---|
| Português | licença |
| Français | congé |
| Deutsch | Urlaub, Hafturlaub, Ausgang, Freigang |
| Italiano | licenza, congedo |
| Română | învoire, permisie |
| Русский | о́тпуск ótpusk, увольне́ние uvolʹnénije, побы́вка pobývka |
noun documents authorizing leave of absence
| Español | permiso de ausencia oficial |
|---|---|
| Русский | увольни́тельная uvolʹnítelʹnaja |
noun period of unpaid time off used by an employer to reduce costs
| Español | ausencia no pagada, sabático obligatorio no pagado |
|---|---|
| Português | licença não remunerada |
| Français | chômage technique |
| Deutsch | unbezahlter Zwangsurlaub, Zwangsurlaub, Kurzarbeit |
| Italiano | permesso non retribuito, cassa integrazione |
| Русский | неоплачиваемый отпуск neoplačivajemyj otpusk |
verb to grant a furlough
| Deutsch | beurlauben |
|---|
verb to bar (an employee) from working
| Français | mettre au chômage technique, mettre à pied |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | zwangsbeurlauben |
Talk about this word "furlough." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/furlough. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. furlough. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/furlough "furlough." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/furlough.Cite this
@misc{furlough_2026,
title = {furlough},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/furlough},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
