Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Pension?

\Pen"sion\, n. [F., fr. L. pensio a paying, payment, fr. pendere, pensum, to weight, to pay; akin to pend?re to hang. See {Pendant}, and cf. {Spend}.] 1. A payment; a tribute; something paid or given. [Obs.] The stomach's pension, and the time's expense. --Sylvester. 2. A stated allowance to a person in consideration of past services; payment made to one retired from service, on account of age, disability, or other cause; especially, a regular stipend paid by a government to retired public officers, disabled soldiers, the families of soldiers killed in service, or to meritorious authors, or the like. To all that kept the city pensions and wages. --1 Esd. iv. 56. 3. A certain sum of money paid to a clergyman in lieu of tithes. [Eng.] --Mozley & W. 4. [F., pronounced ?.] A boarding house or boarding school in France, Belgium, Switzerland, etc.
\Pen"sion\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Pensioned}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Pensioning}.] To grant a pension to; to pay a regular stipend to; in consideration of service already performed; -- sometimes followed by off; as, to pension off a servant. One knighted Blackmore, and one pensioned Quarles. --Pope.