Dictionary:
si·ne·cure (sī'nĭ-kyʊr', sĭn'ĭ-)  |
[From Medieval Latin (beneficium) sine cūrā, (benefice) without cure (of souls) : Latin sine, without + Latin cūrā, ablative of cūra, care; see cure.]
sinecurism si'ne·cur·ism n.| Obscure Words: sinecure |
| Word Tutor: sinecure |
Lazy people may wish for a sinecure.
Tutor's tip: This word was used in the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee finals.
| Wikipedia: Sinecure |
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Look up sinecure in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
A sinecure (from Latin sine, without, and cura, care) means an office which requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. Sinecures have historically provided a potent tool for governments or monarchs to distribute patronage, while recipients are able to store up titles and easy salaries.
A sinecure is not necessarily a figurehead, which generally requires active participation in government, albeit with a lack of power. A sinecure, by contrast, has no real day-to-day responsibilities, but may have de jure power.
A sinecure can also be given to an individual whose primary job is in another office, but requires a sinecure title to perform that job well. For example, the Government House Leader in Canada is often given a sinecure ministry position so that he may become a member of the Cabinet. Similar examples are the Lord Privy Seal and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the British cabinet. Other sinecures operate as legal fictions, such as the British office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, used as a legal excuse for resigning from Parliament.
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| Translations: Sinecure |
Nederlands (Dutch)
sinecure, kleinigheid
Français (French)
n. - sinécure
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αργομισθία
Português (Portuguese)
n. - sinecura (f)
Español (Spanish)
n. - canonjía, sinecura
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sinekur
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
闲职, 挂名职务
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 閒職, 掛名職務
한국어 (Korean)
n. - (명예 또는 수입이 있는) 명예직, 명목뿐인 목사직
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 冗職, 名誉職, 閑職, 無任所聖職禄
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) ألوظيفه ألعاطله
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - משרה ללא דרישות רבות אך בעלת הכנסה נאה ומעמד מכובד
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| sinecurism |
Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Obscure Words. © 2008 by Michael A. Fischer http://home.comcast.net/~wwftd. Read more |
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| Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved. eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sinecure". Read more |
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| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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