"Furlough"

When:

Lookups spiked on April 6, 2011.

Why:

Furlough – meaning "a period of time when an employee is told not to come to work and is not paid" – has been used frequently as Democrats and Republicans square off in a budget debate that may shut down the federal government.

For example:

"The CIA, FBI and other U.S. intelligence agencies are planning potentially significant employee furloughs in the event of a federal government shutdown, top agency officials said on Wednesday." – Reuters, April 6, 2011

Furlough comes from the Dutch word that means "permission."