Etymology

occupation

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Today it means: An activity or task with which one occupies oneself; usually specifically the productive activity, service, trade, or craft for which one is regularly paid; a job. Full definition →

Middle English occupacioun ← Middle French occupacion ← Latin occupātiō
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kap-“to seize, grab”
  2. Latin · derived fromoccupātiō
  3. Middle French · derived fromoccupacion
  4. Middle English · inherited fromoccupacioun
  5. English todayoccupation

From Middle English occupacioun, borrowed from Middle French occupacion, occupation, from Latin occupātiō, occupātiōnis, from occupō (“occupy, seize”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to seize, grab”). By surface analysis, occupy + -ation.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*kap- all →

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Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.