seniority

English

Etymology

From Middle English senyoryte, from Medieval Latin senioritas, from Latin senior (“elder”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /siːnɪˈɒɹɪti/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /sinˈjɔɹɪti/
• Rhymes: -ɒɹɪti
• Hyphenation: se‧nior‧i‧ty

Noun

seniority (countable and uncountable, plural seniorities)

1. A measure of the amount of time a person has been a member of an organization, as compared to other members, and with an eye towards awarding privileges to those who have been members longer.

   Synonyms: anciennity, eldership

   It's an old-fashioned company, with parking spaces and other perks doled out on the basis of seniority.

Related terms

• senate
• senator
• senior

Translations

time

• Bulgarian: трудов стаж m (trudov staž)
• Danish: anciennitet (da) c
• Dutch: senioriteit (nl) f, anciënniteit (nl) f
• French: ancienneté (fr), séniorité (fr) f
• German: Anciennität f, Seniorität (de) f
• Greek: αρχαιότητα (el) f (archaiótita)
• Kyrgyz: улуулук (ky) (uluuluk)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ansiennitet m

• Russian: стаж (ru) m (staž)
• Spanish: antigüedad (es) f, arraigo laboral m, senioridad f
• Swedish: anciennitet (sv) c, tjänsteålder c
• Vietnamese: thâm niên (vi)
• Yiddish: סטאַזש (stazh)

Further reading

• “seniority”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “seniority”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.