emolument
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of emolument
First recorded in 1470–80; from Latin ēmolumentum “advantage, benefit,” probably a derivative of ēmol(ere) “to grind out, produce by grinding” ( ē- “from, out of” + molere “to grind”) + -u-, variant before labials of -i- + -mentum noun suffix; see e- 1, mill 1, -i-, -ment
Explanation
Not many workers think of their paychecks as emoluments, but they certainly could. Emolument is another word for the money you receive for working. Pronounce emolument with a long e sound in the first syllable and the accent on the second: "e MALL you ment." Emolument traces back to the Latin word emolumentum, meaning "profit, gain," which is believed to have referred to payments made to millers for grinding corn — emolere means "grind out." Today, perhaps coincidentally, people refer to work as "the grind."
Vocabulary lists containing emolument
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Constitution of the United States
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Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s a play on the word emolument, a gift from a foreign leader or domestic government that a president is prohibited under the Constitution from accepting.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Article II, Section 1 and Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution prohibit the president in particular and public officials in general from receiving any emolument from domestic or foreign sources while in office.
From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2024
The third judge on the panel, A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., focused on what constitutes an illegal emolument.
From New York Times ● Mar. 19, 2019
The foreign emolument prohibition covers anything of value from a foreign government.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 2, 2018
At any rate, he was independent of material emolument, or at any rate seemed so.
From The Heath Hover Mystery by Bertram Mitford
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
