hireling

English

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old English hȳrling (“hireling, employee”), from Proto-Germanic *hūzijō-lingaz (“hireling”), equivalent to hire +‎ -ling. Cognate with Dutch huurling (“hireling, mercenary”).

Pronunciation

• (Canada) IPA: /ˈhaɪrˌlɪŋ/

Noun

hireling (plural hirelings)

1. (usually pejorative) an employee who is hired, often to perform unpleasant tasks with little independence
   • 1848: William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair

     When my poor James was in the smallpox, did I allow any hireling to nurse him?

2. (usually pejorative) someone who does a job purely for money, rather than out of interest in the work itself
   • 1605: Francis Bacon, The Advancement of Learning

     ... it may be truly affirmed that no kind of men love business for itself but those that are learned; for other persons love it for profit, as a hireling that loves the work for the wages;

Synonyms

• flunky
• lackey
• mercenary