emolument

[ ih-mol-yuh-muhnt ]

noun

1. profit, salary, or fees from office or employment; compensation for services:

   Tips are an emolument in addition to wages.

   Synonyms: honorarium, stipend, recompense, pay, earnings

emolument

/ ɪˈmɒljʊmənt /

noun

1. the profit arising from an office or employment, usually in the form of fees or wages

Word History and Origins

Origin of emolument¹

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; e- ¹, mill ¹, -i-, -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of emolument¹

C15: from Latin ēmolumentum benefit; originally, fee paid to a miller, from ēmolere, from molere to grind

Example Sentences

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

The foreign emolument section states that, without congressional assent, neither the president nor other office holders can “accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

From Salon

To combat potential bribes, the framers in 1787 adopted — with almost no debate — language based on the 1781 Articles of Confederation that prohibited all persons “holding any Office of Profit or Trust” from accepting any “present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind” from any “foreign State” without approval from Congress.

From Washington Post

Because the United States had no navy, there was “no public employment for my Military talents” and “no emolument or profit whatever” from the military, Jones said.

From Washington Post

To the chagrin of anyone who knew how to pronounce emolument, Trump’s presidency seemed like an instant boon to his business.

From Slate