layoff

[ley-awf, -of] Origin

lay·off

[ley-awf, -of]
noun
1.
the act of dismissing employees, especially temporarily.
2.
a period of enforced unemployment or inactivity.

Origin:
1885–90, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase lay off

lay off, layoff.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Layoff is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

layoff
also lay off; 1889, "rest, respite;" from lay (-) + off. Via seasonal labor with periodic down time, it came to have a sense of "temporary release from employment," and by 1960s was being used somewhat euphemistically for permanent releases of masses of workers by employers.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

layoff definition


The temporary or permanent removal of a worker from his or her job, usually because of cutbacks in production or corporate reorganization.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
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