pensionary
/'penʃənəri/
Definition
- Noun:
- A person who works only for money; a hireling: A pensionary is someone whose actions or loyalty are primarily motivated by financial gain, often implying a lack of personal conviction or principle.
- The beneficiary of a pension fund: A pensionary is a person who receives regular payments from a pension fund, typically after retirement.
Examples of Usage
- Noun (Hireling):
- The corrupt official was nothing more than a pensionary of the foreign corporation.
- He was accused of being a pensionary, willing to support any policy for a fee.
- Noun (Pension recipient):
- Upon turning 65, she became a pensionary of the state fund.
- The company ensures all its pensionaries receive their payments on time.
Advanced Usage
- Historical/Archaic Usage: In historical European (particularly Dutch) contexts, a "Pensionary" (often capitalized, like "Grand Pensionary") was a chief legal advisor or a high-ranking official, essentially a paid functionary of the state or a city. This usage aligns with the "hireling" sense but denotes a specific formal office.
- Johan de Witt served as the Grand Pensionary of Holland in the 17th century.
Variants and Related Words
- Pension (n): A regular payment made during a person's retirement or from a fund to which that person or their employer has contributed.
- Pensioner (n): A person who receives a pension, especially the retirement pension. (This is the more common modern term for the "beneficiary" sense).
- Pensionable (adj): Entitling to or qualifying for a pension.
Synonyms
- For 'hireling': Mercenary, hireling, paid agent, stooge.
- For 'beneficiary': Pensioner, annuitant, retiree, grantee.
Related Phrases
- Pensionary state: A term sometimes used to describe a relationship where a smaller state is subsidized or controlled by a larger, more powerful one, drawing from the "hireling" concept.
- Critics argued the agreement would reduce the nation to a pensionary state of its powerful neighbor.
Noun
-
a person who works only for money
-
the beneficiary of a pension fund
