retirement
noun
Retirement — the deliberate withdrawal for rest, reflection, or renewal
Definition
Withdrawal for prayer and study and meditation; "the religious retreat is a form of vacation activity"
In depth
Retirement, in its older and broader sense, names withdrawal for prayer, study, or meditation, a deliberate stepping back from ordinary activity to make room for contemplation. Its now far more common modern sense, withdrawal from active employment, particularly at the end of a career, extends this same underlying logic of stepping back from one phase of life into a quieter, more reflective one.
Origin
The word descends from French retirer, to withdraw, formed from re- (back) and tirer (to draw or pull), sharing a similar underlying logic with 'retreat.' Its eventual narrowing toward describing the end of professional working life developed gradually through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, alongside the rise of formal pension systems and a culture increasingly organized around the structured career.
Usage examples
"The religious retreat was, in the older sense of the word, a kind of structured retirement, set apart deliberately from ordinary obligation."
"Her retirement, after forty years at the firm, left her with more time than she quite knew how to fill at first."
"He treated retirement not as an ending but as a long-deferred beginning."
How to use it
Retirement's older sense, withdrawal for contemplation, survives mainly in formal or historical religious writing, while its modern, far more common sense, the end of a working career, dominates everyday usage. Context alone clarifies which is intended.
Related concepts
Looking for a word but don't know its name?
Try the Word Finder →