sinecure

English

WOTD – 1 June 2010    

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Latin sine (“without”) + cūrā (“care”) in beneficium sine cūrā (“benefice without care”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈsʌɪ.nɪ.kjʊə/, /ˈsɪ.nɪ.kjʊə/
• (US) IPA: /ˈsaɪ.nə.kjʊɹ/, /ˈsɪn.ə.kjʊɹ/

Noun

sinecure (plural sinecures)

1. A position that requires no work but still gives an ample payment; a cushy job.
   • 2009, Michael O'Connor, Quadrant, November 2009, No. 461 (Volume LIII, Number 11), Quadrant Magazine Limited, page 25:

     In the ADF, while the numbers vary between the individual services and the reserves, employment is no comfortable sinecure for any personnel and thus does not appeal to many people, male or female, especially under current pay scales.

   • 2010, Mungo MacCallum, The Monthly, April 2010, Issue 55, The Monthly Ptd Ltd, page 28:

     However, by the time of World War II (if not before), politics, at least in the federal sphere, was no longer regarded as sinecure for well-intentioned part-timers.

   • Macaulay

     A lucrative sinecure in the Excise.

2. An ecclesiastical benefice without the care of souls.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ayliffe to this entry?)

Hypernyms

• (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment): position

Related terms

• sinecurism
• sinecurist

Translations

a position that requires no work but still gives a payment

• Danish: sinecure (da) n
• Dutch: sinecure (nl)
• Estonian: sinekuur (et)
• Finnish: laiskanvirka, suojatyöpaikka (fi)
• French: sinécure (fr), (vulgar) planque (fr)

• German: Sinekure (de) f
• Greek: αργομισθία (el) (argomisthía) f
• Romanian: sinecură (ro) f
• Russian: синекура (ru) (sinekura) f
• Spanish: canonjía (es), sinecura (es), (vulgar) enchufe (es)

Verb

sinecure (third-person singular simple present sinecures, present participle sinecuring, simple past and past participle sinecured)

1. (transitive) To put or place in a sinecure.

Anagrams

• insecure

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Danish

Etymology

From French sinécure, from Latin sine (“without”) + cūra (“care”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sinəkyːrə/, [sinəˈkʰyːɐ]

Noun

sinecure c (singular definite sinecuren, plural indefinite sinecurer)

1. (rare) sinecure (a position that requires no work but still gives a payment)

Inflection

    Inflection of sinecure

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative, dative and accusative	sinecure	sinecuren	sinecurer	sinecurerne
genitive	sinecures	sinecurens	sinecurers	sinecurernes