daywork

See also: day-work and day work

English

Alternative forms

• day work, day-work

Etymology

From Middle English daywork, daywerk, from Old English dæġweorc, from Proto-West Germanic *dagawerk, from Proto-Germanic *dagawerką, equivalent to day +‎ work.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdeɪwɜːk/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈdeɪwɝk/

Noun

daywork (plural dayworks)

1. (obsolete) The work done in a day; a day's work. [10th–19th c.]
2. (obsolete) The amount of land that can be worked in a day. [14th–17th c.]
3. Work carried out or paid for on a daily basis; day labour. [from 16th c.]
4. Work done during the day; specifically, the cover-work carried out by someone involved in intelligence work, as opposed to their secret activities.
   • 1979, John Le Carré, Smiley's People, Folio Society, published 2010, page 257:

     ‘The task of servicing such moles is not entrusted to normal overseas residencies but to a Karla representative, as he is known, usually a military officer, whose daywork is to be an attaché of an Embassy.’

Derived terms

• dayworker

Anagrams

• work day, workday