Etymograph

English

pension

Pension comes from Latin pēnsiō ‘payment, weight, rent, compensation’, from Proto-Italic *pendō ‘to hang, put in a hanging position’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-1‘to stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)péndeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendō1‘to hang, put in a hanging position’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendō1‘to weigh out’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpēnsiō2‘payment, weight, rent, compensation’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400pencione2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pencioun2
  8. Englishtodaypension2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin pensio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English pension

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-Wiktionary, Latin pensio‘to stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)péndetiWiktionary, Latin pensioreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendōWiktionary, Latin pensio‘to hang, put in a hanging position’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendōWiktionary, Latin pensio‘to weigh out’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpēnsiōWiktionary, English pension‘payment, weight, rent, compensation’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400pencioneWiktionary, English pension
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500penciounWiktionary, English pension
  8. EnglishtodaypensionWiktionary, English pension

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’

pound, span, depend, poise, pendant, pansy, 16 more

through Proto-Italic *pendō ‘to hang, put in a hanging position’

spending, suspend, spender, 12 more

through Latin pendō ‘to weigh out’

spend, expensive, expense, compensation, expenditure, compensate, appendix, perpendicular, penthouse, peso, compendium, expend, piso, append, dispensation, recompense, 14 more

Another origin of pension

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400pencion
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentpension
  3. Englishtodaypension

Today it means

noun An annuity paid regularly as benefit due to a retired employee, serviceman etc. in consideration of past services, originally and chiefly by a government but also by various private pension schemes.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pension”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin pensio. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- / pension

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