Friday, November 3, 2017

The New Word for Today

Is secondment.  


Last week, one of my students made a sentence using the word "secondment".  I didn't know the word and asked him to repeat it.  My students sometimes make up words that seem like they should be correct English words, but aren't.  I didn't think that was the case this time.  This student is an upper level student and has a good vocabulary.  I asked him to write the word on the board and I told him I don't know every English word and needed to look it up.  I looked it up on Dictionary.com and found this definition:  

secondment

/sɪˈkɒndmənt
noun
1.
(Brita temporary transfer to another job or post within the same organization
Word Origin
C19: from French en second in second rank (or position)

He had used the word correctly and it was a word I had never heard before.  I often learn things from my students.  I even learn how to speak English from them! A big thank you for teaching me a new word!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Pamela ,thats interesting i also havent heard that word before xx

Miranda said...

A word I didn't know, either. It does say "Brit" in the definition, so perhaps only British English really uses it.

kiwikid said...

I associate this word with the military for some reason, although that does not always apply...but just covers the being moved from one area to another.

Sarah said...

Ah yes, after reading the definition, i now recognize the word. I'm not sure where from but I am also thinking something military.

diamondc said...

Pamela: Sometimes I hear words and of course I read my dictionary, amazing how many words are not used in everyday language.

Catherine

Queeniepatch said...

I have never heard it either.
I guess the situation where you are transferred to another section of your organisation or company is much more common in Japan than in Western countries. You might be promoted or ask for another position in the same firm, but in Japan many people stay for life in the same company. Therefore is it common for the personel section to 'shuffle' staff and send them 'hither and thither' around the country or indeed the world.

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

well, I never heard that word before either. But I guessed it meant something totally different than the definition. I love learning new words, but I bet I'll never hear this one again.
xx, Carol

Janie said...

That's new to me too, but practical.

Ann said...

I read lots of British novels and WWII histories so I’ve heard that term before. It always sounds so elegant in their accent. Never hear it in the US.

Vireya said...

Interesting! I've heard it a lot in Australia. I didn't realise it was a British English word, and not widely used. I probably first heard it as a child when (religious) ministers got transferred between churches "on secondment". Then when I worked in the public service it was commonly used. In fact I just tried googling the word, and almost every page in the results was an Australian state or federal government website.

Leonore Winterer said...

The English language has so many words, no wonder you don't know all of them. So thanks for sharing your new word with us!