Etymograph

English

furlough

Furlough comes from Dutch verlof.

  1. Dutchc. 1500–presentverlof1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1957furlough1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English furlough
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1957, James Baldwin, Sonny’s Blues: “And I had a lot of things on my…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Dutchc. 1500–presentverlofWiktionary, English furlough
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1957furloughWiktionary, English furlough. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1957, James Baldwin, Sonny’s Blues: “And I had a lot of things on my…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per-

first, before, support, far, per, report, price, private, press, practice, fear, opportunity, pre, further, primary, prior, prime, appreciate, port, prize, afford, pregnant, ford, practical, forth, praise, interpretation, privilege, parade, precious, par, ferry, pirate, fare, porch, pardon, primitive, prix, interpreter, pragmatic, 156 more

Today it means

noun Especially one granted to a member of the armed forces, or to a prisoner.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “furlough”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Dutch verlof / furlough

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